


Able and His Doctor

by ReccoFanfiction



Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005), Doctor Who (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Development, Curious OC, Dalek - Freeform, Enabler, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, NOT A TIME LORD OC, New Ideas, Not just OC in Rose's Place, Other, Reapers, Rift (Torchwood), Science, Smart OC, Time Travel, Timey-Wimey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-08
Updated: 2017-04-27
Packaged: 2018-10-16 11:00:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 74,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10569939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReccoFanfiction/pseuds/ReccoFanfiction
Summary: Able is an actual doctor, and so, so much more. We all know 'The Doctor' has a canny ability to find himself running into impossible things - and if Able was anything, he was an impossible thing. (Twist on usual OC formula.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything that I've written. Yep, that's right, I own not even one iota of the below work.

**Summary:** Able is an actual doctor, and so, so much more. We all know 'The Doctor' does have a pendent for running into impossible things - and if Able was anything, he was an impossible thing. (A twist on the usual OC and The Doctor formula has original ideas and later on, canon divergence. M/M)

**Warnings:** This is a Doctor Who fic, so I doubt any of the readers will turn down reading this just because it's slash. After all, we have the canon Jack Harkness. (Who deserves a warning all on his own.) Canon typical violence, language, and later on there will probably be more explicit sexual content.

**Authour Note:** I came up with a little twister on the OC and The Doctor fanfiction. It is, to my knowledge, an original idea for the OC, and thus, the OC isn't, and won't ever be, a Time Lord. (How over-used is that idea?) There will be a more in-depth look at just what Able is farther into the story, and his character will be much more flushed out. I will also be making an attempt not to just have Able say the same things that Rose will/does. I originally published a similar story but deleted it, mostly because I rethought having my OC being part of the main characters family.

**My OC isn't going to be Time Lord smart!** Please keep this in mind. (Human genius level only unless in regard to Time stuff, which he is better at, but STILL not Time Lord level.)

**Prologue: The Human Rift**

...

There was a lot of energy in the Cardiff Space-Time Rift usually this wasn't a problem. There was a typical customer to absorb that energy to refuel, but it wasn't enough. The Doctor wasn't taking as much energy as the Rift needed to be rid of, and the Rift had held off for as long as they could, before finally they made a rather executive decision.

A child born on the Rift, embedded with a certain amount of potential.

The Rift started to push their energy into the child whenever the potential rupture started once again. It stopped the problem from expanding exponentially, and the effect that it had on the 'child' was great.

The future the child was put on from that moment onward was not quite as amazing.

Since the moment the Rift had placed their energy into the child, they knew what would happen. A fixed point in time was created, and there was no getting away from it. Every moment spent connected with the child led the Rift to more consciousness of itself – Eventually the Rift became nearly completely sentient. They grew to care about the child, which is why they felt so bad about what they knew they were going to have to do.

The effect on the child was slow to actually express itself.

It first started with the early development of speech and motor skills, nothing spectacular, and the times were similar to that of usual early bloomers.

Then, when the child was told enough to understand it's name was Able, he started to feel a presence in the back of his mind all the time, a sort of constant companion.

Throughout all of Able's schooling, he learned quicker than usual kids that were around him. He skipped a few grades, consequently enough. Eventually somewhere around the age thirteen, the Rift had gained enough sentience to actually speak with Able in his mind, and Able gained something that was equivalent to a parent.

He learned a lot of time and space because of the Rift – Things that scientists wouldn't discover for hundreds of thousands of years. Stuff that Able himself could barely understand – But that lack of understanding pushed Able forward.

He eventually became a Doctor of Theoretical Physics and graduated college with top honours.

So there were some facts, but how was Able as a person? What was his social, or his family life like?

His parents didn't like the fact that their kid was getting smart as them so quickly, they were jealous of the intelligence that their child possessed. They gave Able away, tore away his last name and left him to an orphanage. As for a social life, Able dated in High School, or the British equivalent for it, one Rose Tyler. Eventually they decided to part ways rather amicably, stayed best friends, and Able took that time to 'experiment'. After that, he didn't have a solid partner in his life other than the Rift and his best friend.

Able just honestly didn't think he needed another relationship. He wasn't lonely, he had the Rift in his mind constantly.

So he went about his life – There was a list to what he did every day, and that schedule was something that Able had come to find a good deal of comfort in, if not for the fact he did find it quite boring at times.

Get ready for work.

Go to work. (This included going into the University that he worked at and doing research and proofing. Most of Able's research was in Dynamics, as he already had a grasp of Time and Space that couldn't be used in this time frame.)

Go to lunch, usually with Rose and her boyfriend, Mickey.

Go back to work for another few hours.

Use free time to watch some Netflix, either that, or if Able was searching for a little something more... Physical he would go to the club.

Then he went to sleep.

This was how he usually spent his days, rinse and repeat. Rarely was there a deviation to the usual routin, and like stated before, it was boring, but safe. Chance's aren't something that can be predicted though, so when his friend's work got blown up the day before, Able made the decision to deviate from his usual.

He went to Rose Tyler's place to hang out with her for the day.

Getting ready, Able grabbed some grey sweatpants that stopped just below his knees, a black tang top, and some black converse. He also attached his black watch, and placed his wide rimmed glasses on, which didn't hide the appearance of his grey-blue eyes at all. Just before he hit the door, he ran a quick comb through his curly ginger hair and started to jog toward the Tyler residence.

Knocking on the door, it immediately opened and Able was met with the sight of his ex-girlfriend. She was still in her PJ's, which made sense, considering she no longer had a job.

"Hello, Lover." Able spoke, giving the blonde a teasing smile.

The smile he got in return was much more genuine, "Get in here! It's been way too long since we just hung out."

"As though I wouldn't come by after hearing my best friend was seconds away from death." Able commented as he entered the threshold and both of them moved toward the living room couches, "Which reminds me, how are you? I know you said you didn't get hurt, but, you emotionally together?"

"Takes more than a little explosion to shake me." Rose said with a little pout in her voice, pretty done with people treating her like she is glass.

"Oh yes, it does take more than a little explosion to shake you. Good thing I wasn't asking about a little explosion then." Able pointed out rather logically, having seen the news speak about the explosion and surely enough, that wasn't small by any means.

"You worry too much, I was out of the building when it happened. Didn't even get a scratch... Although some weird things happened before I left." Rose mentioned, seeming a little hyped for Able to inquire.

Able wasn't one to disappoint.

"Alright Lover, give me the whole story."

Rose went through the whole series of events, as impossible as they might seem. She seemed rather abstinent on the fact it was some kind of prank, despite the fact that nobodies were found, even inside of creepy mannequins. Then she went on to talk about 'The Doctor' which was interesting. The Rift in the back of Able's mind seemed to perk up at the name, leaving the ginger to wonder if perhaps this Doctor was an alien of some type that passed through the Rift. Able knew that it happened sometimes, but the Rift didn't seem all that worried, so neither was Able.

"Well, you certainly had an interesting day." Able spoke, accepting everything he was told as fact.

He got a look of disbelief from Rose, who could hardly believe what had happened herself – and she had been there!

Before the blonde could question though, there was a ringing at the door bell.

"I'll go get that, you stay here." Rose spoke, knowing that her friend had a habit of wondering off when something caught his curiosity.

Able just rose his hands and gave the blonde an innocent look, which she didn't believe for a moment, and jokingly made the 'I'm watching you' movement, bringing two fingers up to her eyes, before lining them up with Able's.

She left after that, Able swung his feet up onto the couch and laid himself down, resting his head on the armrest as a pillow, and the other arm rest to place his feet. Five seconds later, he was bored, but he'd been dealing with his ADD all his life, the boredom was just something he learned to ignore.

"Oh no you don't! Inside! Now!" Able heard his friend exclaim, and looked toward the hallway to the front door in curiosity, swinging himself off the couch and toward the doorway.

Rounding the corner, Able was treated to the sight of Rose practically dragging in a man with rather tanned skin, short dark hair, and grey-blue eyes that were similar to Able's own. He wore a black leather coat, black trousers, and a black v-neck shirt. His ears and nose were disproportionate on his face, but that just added a uniqueness to him, and didn't really detracted from his attractiveness.

"Rose~ You didn't tell me you finally got rid of Mickey for someone vastly more attractive! Good on you, Lover, I've been telling you for years." Able teased, leaning up against the wall.

Rose shot her friend a slightly dirty look, but found some comedic value in the words, so let it slide with an almost unheard chuckle, "This is the guy from yesterday, you know, the one I was just telling you about. Look out and make sure he doesn't make a run for it, I'm going to go get us refreshments."

First thing was first, get the man out of Jackie Tyler's sight before she got any bright ideas.

"Come on then, let's go to the living room." Able said, motioning behind him before walking off, expecting 'The Doctor' to follow him.

The ginger plopped down onto the couch as though he owned the place, turning his rested head toward 'The Doctor' as he started to walk around the room, messing around in all the stuff. Able didn't really care enough to stop him, knowing that Rose wouldn't mind much, there wasn't anything personal about in this room.

"So, Rose told me you blew up a building, got a reason for that?" Curiosity getting the better of Able.

"Yep." The man replied, but then didn't expand upon.

"Could you tell me?"

"Nope." He said, a smile stretching across his face.

_Well, wasn't that infuriating?_ Able thought to himself, a wearily smiling flashing across his face as he watched the man. Previously he thought 'The Doctor' might be an alien, considering the Rifts attention and feelings toward him, as the thought occurred, there was another hum from the Rift, giving a certain positive feeling that meant Able was spot on.

The hum sent the man looking around the room in curiosity, Able could feel his eyes widen slightly at that, before he forced the reaction down.

He certainly wouldn't be explaining the connection he had with the Rift to someone that he didn't know. Best not to let the seemingly observant man catch on.

Before Able could inquire more, Rose interrupted, calling out from the other room, "How do you take your coffee?"

"Just milk, thanks!" He called back, returning to his searching of the room.

He started to flick through a stray magazine, and Able took this chance to question the man again, "So, what's your name?"

"Your 'Lover' didn't tell you?" He raised an eyebrow before looking back at the magazine, "I'm The Doctor."

"Well, Doctor, I'm 'The Able', pleased to meet you." The physicist teasingly mocked the man's way of introduction.

The man just smiled, "Nice to meet you." The page flipping stopped for second, "Oh, that won't last long, he's gay and she's an alien."

"You can tell he's gay by just looking at a picture? Impressive gaydar. Much experience?" The last part added on with an almost flirting tone.

"Wouldn't you like to know." The Doctor shot back, showing a quick wit, "I'm here for a plastic arm that I pulled off one of the mannequins yesterday. Got a signal off it, might still be active."

Able couldn't recall any plastic arms around. Rose hadn't mentioned on in her explanation either, but knowing that this had extra-terrestrial origins, he knew better than to just take The Doctor's words for granted, and stood up, and started to look around, "Can't have a stray moving mannequin arm just wondering around – Can we?"

The Doctor looked at the ginger with a raised eyebrow as the scientist started his search, wondering why he just accepted the words that had been spoken, but The Doctor also knew better than to waste time, and restarted his search.

Suddenly a scudding sound was heard, and Able stiffened up and spun around toward the noise.

Only to see a 'plastic' arm connect itself to The Doctor's neck, starting to strangle him. Able rushed over and tried to help the man yank it off, Able trying to pull it off straight, well The Doctor worked on getting the fingers to release their death-grip on his throat.

"I thought that Mickey went and threw that out." Rose commented, "Oi, stop messing around you two... Men." She finished under his breath in exasperation.

Suddenly, the hand released The Doctor, and started to strangle Able instead.

Now, Able was willing to try just about anything, but this being strangled by a strange plastic arm... Well, under the right circumstances maybe, but without warning? That's just bad manners. Or, at least, that's what he said in his mind to calm himself as his airway was cut off. The Doctor seemed on top of it though, he pulled out a weird looking cylinder, seemed a bit like some future technology that Able had seen through the Rift, and started to scan the arm with it.

It realized it's death hold a moment later, and Rose hurried over to her fallen friend.

"Next time, we are setting up a safe word first." Able coughed out, trying to gain his breath back, but somehow erupted into giggles.

Clearly, the oxygen deprivation had done wonders on his level of happiness.

"Well... There we are! Armless!" The Doctor announced, like it was some great comedic evolution.

Rose didn't seem to find her best friend nearly dying all that funny, grabbed the now motionless arm, and hit The Doctor's shoulder with it, "You think!"

"Well... I can tell when I'm not wanted, so off I trot." The man spoke, making way for the door. Rose following after quickly.

Able decided that staring at the ceiling was far more interesting than getting up and going after them. Despite his heavy curiosity, there was no way he was chancing passing out if he got up too quickly after being strangled half to death. That would be more embarrassing than almost dying by mannequin arm. Surely enough, Rose would just inform him about what happened when she got back.

**R &R**

**I'm trying to keep everyone in character and make Able likable. I think I pulled it off, he's meant to be open-minded toward pretty much everything, intelligent, and teasing toward a lot of things, even in inappropriate moments. Of course, there are other facets, but why should I tell you, when I can _show_ you.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything that I've written. Yep, that's right, I own not even one iota of the below work.

 **Summary:** Able is an actual doctor, and so, so much more. We all know 'The Doctor' does have a pendent for running into impossible things - and if Able was anything, he was an impossible thing. (A twist on the usual OC and The Doctor formula has original ideas and later on, canon divergence. M/M)

 **Warnings:** This is a Doctor Who fic, so I doubt any of the readers will turn down reading this just because it's slash. After all, we have the canon Jack Harkness. (Who deserves a warning all on his own.) Canon typical violence, language, and later on there will probably be more explicit sexual content.

 **Authour Note:** Sooooo, this chapter I finish up everything with the Nestene Consciousness. I believe I will do an episode a chapter, which will make updates take longer, but I like the organization involved if I do it that way. Besides, it's quality, not quantity! Got a lot in this chapter, I feel really confident in it. If you are wondering about the whole Rift thing that was glanced over in the first chapter, I won't make you wait TOO long to see what the 'inevitable' thing that will happen to Able is. Able actually comes off as a bit mean a few times in this chapter - That's okay though! Because he actually HAS a character to develop, unlike a lot of OCxDoctor works out there.

I think the way The Doctor and Able are saying each others names is adorable, and I'm keeping it.

I'm not sure whether or not my characters are OOC, but they can't be too bad considering I'm using the show for reference.

**Chapter Two: Nestene Consciousness**

...

Rose had went on some great expedition, trying to figure out just who 'The Doctor' was. Which, honestly, Able found a little bit too much. If you wanted to know something about someone, the best and only real way, was to just ask that person. Searching the internet was only going to get you speculation and opinion – If even that. Rose had become practically obsessed though, going to some conspiracy theorists place who was named Clive of all things.

That was the gist of what had been spoken over the phone, after which, Rose invited Able to dinner with her and Mickey so they could go over the rest of her findings.

Able agreed to meet with his best friend, and took about fifteen minutes getting to the restaurant, unceremoniously plopping himself down next to Rose, and across from Mickey.

"You're looking a bit pecked, mate." The last word came out of Able's mouth almost sarcastically.

Mickey and Able didn't get along very well, mostly because Mickey didn't like Able's relationship with Rose. It made a bit of sense, and Able could understand a bit of where the man was coming from. Jealously was such an ugly emotion though – It wasn't really Able's fault that he was one of the few people lucky enough to stay friends with their amazingly hot ex-partners. Of course, part of it might be that the ginger was a tad bit smug over the fact he'd pulled that off.

"I'm fine, what I really want to talk about is this Doctor character. You said he had something to do with the store blowing up?" Mickey finished, turning toward Rose.

That was totally out of character for Mickey, and it set Able a little bit on edge.

"What do you know, one of you can be a bit mature." Rose spoke with a smile, giving it purely to her boyfriend. The ginger rolled his eyes and continued to eye Mickey up.

"Sure sure, but this Doctor..." Mickey spoke again, looking almost warmly toward the two of them.

"You're being a bit pushy you know, we could talk about the weather for a second." Rose joked, looking at her partner a little bit weirdly – finally seeming to notice his actions were a bit off.

"But The Doctor is so much more interesting than the weather."

"Oh my god! I knew there was a reason I didn't like him for you, Lover. He's gay for The Doctor. Should have guessed." Able announced with a grin, getting a slap on his arm from Rose, but Mickey just kept on smiling.

Yep, there was clearly something going on with the air-head. Able thought, narrowing his eyes toward the man. What, had the government sent him to get information on The Doctor, that was a bit farfetched, but so was a good majority of the possibilities that made sense.

Mickey turned completely to Rose, ignoring Able's existence, "You can trust me, sweetheart-baby-sugar-babe-sugar-daddy-babe..." Mickey stuttered out, his voice uneven as he reached across the table for Rose's hand.

"Alright there, mate, don't go touching her now. This is a supervised date after all." Able mock scolded, but truly on edge and about ready to grab his blonde friend and start to make a run for it.

Before the idea could fully form, a familiar voice came from behind Able and Rose, "Your champagne."

As weird as it was, considering The Doctor was a stranger, Able could feel himself relax a little bit at the sound of his voice. Able, for all his knowledge that was beyond current human understanding, hadn't actually been in a situation where he was facing down something he just didn't understand.

"We didn't order any champagne." Mickey ground out, reaching over and violently clasping Rose's wrist.

Able could feel himself getting rather angry.

He was a laid back person, someone that just let life bring him where it may, and took pretty much everything in stride, and yet he felt real, true, anger for the first time in years seeing his best friend being grabbed at like that.

"Mick, mate, you have about five seconds to let go over her before you find a knife through your hand." Able hissed out, face going red to match his hair as anger took him over.

"Does no one want this champagne?" The Doctor said from behind them, a tone of false disappointment in his tone.

"You can buy me a drink later, Handsome. Can't you see we're a bit busy right now?" Able shot back, despite his current anger.

Mickey let go of Rose's wrist the second he turned to face the waiter, "Ha! We finally found you."

"Oh don't pay me too much mind. I'm just here to congratulate the happy couple." The Doctor spoke rather sarcastically, shaking the bottle in his hands at violent speeds, until finally, the pressure became too much, and it was pointed at Mickey's head like a gun as the cork flew off.

It embedded into Mickey's head, before it seemed to be absorbed, and then spat back out without Mickey so much as flinching.

"What..." Rose whispered, horrified at seeing what just happened with her boyfriend.

"Come now, Lover, let's take a step back." Able crooned softly to the stunned blonde, grabbing her out of the way as The Doctor took control of the situation, jumping onto Mickey, and –

Well damn, the guy twisted Mickey's head straight off. Now, Able had thought about doing similar in times of vast frustration with the guy, but that was certainly quite violent. The lack of blood was a good sign though – Probably related to the plastic then, which was good, because if it wasn't and his best friends boyfriend had just been killed in front of her like that, he and that Doctor would be having harshly spoken, heated, bold words.

Where had he been going with that?

Rose seemed to shake her shocked state off, and pulled the fire alarm, yelling for everyone to get out in a borderline hysterical voice.

Three people made eye-contact, and something indescribable happened, a sense of understanding that Able would usually associate with the Rift showing him something, and The Doctor, Able, and Rose were all running through the kitchen and toward an exit.

Unfortunately, the area was gated off.

"Open the gate!" Rose screamed, still borderline hysterical as she shook the bars.

Able took this chance to look around for alternative means of escape, only seeing a odd blue police box, as well as The Doctor locking the door behind them using his future-tool.

"Oi! Come over here and open the gate with your tube thing!" Rose called out to The Doctor, who seemed to be swaggering over to the blue box instead.

"It's called a sonic screwdriver." He said, placing the sonic screwdriver back into his pocket and pulling out a key.

"You really think now is the time for semantics?" Able asked, finding himself weirdly calm, probably a byproduct of just how calm The Doctor seemed. It was hard to panic around people who were calm, and practically draped that calm confidence around themselves.

"Just open the gate!" Rose called, practically growling at this point.

"I'll tell you what, you two can come in here instead." The Doctor said, using the key he'd pulled out to open the blue box.

Well, if he wasn't going to open the gate, then the best thing would be to hide in the box. Nothing for it really, Able decided, as he followed the man into the box at a dashing speed. Last thing he wanted was to end up outside of the box when whatever was happening went down –

Oh universe.

Able could hear Rose calling out from outside the box, saying that hiding in a wooden box was no good, or that it wouldn't work it was too small. However, the ginger was far too transfixed on his current surroundings to pay much mind to what his friend was saying.

In the middle for the large room he'd walked into was a circular consol with wires attached to it everywhere, seats were near, and outward from there was a sort of design that was weirdly fitting for the futuristic aspect of the yellow lit room. There were blinking screens on the consol, and The Doctor was walking over to them, along with the head he'd collected before, starting to mess around with the computer. Even Able's usual curiosity wasn't enough to drag him to the screen to see what was going on, instead, he ran a hand across the walls of the room, utter fascinate.

It had to be some sort of separate dimension, that was the only thing that could make sense. How fascinating – Even in the future that Able got glimpses of from the Rift, there was never any technology this advanced. At least, not at this scale.

Rose had a similar reaction a few moments later, but seemed to shake out of it to inform The Doctor of something she saw quite pertinent, "They're going to follow us!"

The Doctor gave a literal snort of amusement, "The assembled hoards of Genghis Khan couldn't get through that door, and believe me, they've tried Now please, do shut up."

"Let's see them hold up against Khan Noonien Singh, then I'll be really impressed." Able whispered under his breath so that The Doctor didn't hear.

Rose just gave her friend a deadpan look for the comment before covering her snort with a hand, "Oh my god, you're such a nerd."

"That I am." Able replied, giving her a smug grin.

The mood had relaxed – It lasted for a good five seconds before Able tensed up when he felt something brush against his mind.

Something that wasn't his Rift.

There was a sense of curiosity there, but also of... Knowing? Able shivered, he didn't like it when people knew things that he didn't – Especially when it involved mysterious mind powers that Able had only ever experienced with one being, ever.

"Now you see, the arm was too simple, but the head, that'll get us where we need to go, as I can use to to trace the signal back to the original source." The Doctor announced suddenly, breaking the connection Able had been feeling abruptly, much to the gingers relief.

He turned toward the two humans only a second later, "Alright, where do you want to start?"

The Doctor has clearly been through this a time or two, Able thought to himself, but let Rose take the reins for a moment,

She seemed to remember her nervousness the second the conversation drifted away from just joking bants between friends.

"It's... Bigger on the inside." Rose stated, but her tone gave more of a questioning feel.

"Yep."

"It's alien." She stated, the questioning tone disappearing completely.

"Yeah."

"Are you alien?"

The Doctor seemed a hint of nervous underneath the tough looking exterior as he answered, "Yes, is that alright?"

Able looked over at the shocked Rose, and she looked back at her friend as and there was a hint of something in her eyes, before she just gave a shocked little, "Yeah..." In an almost breathy tone.

So The Doctor was an 'alien' then. Able knew that they existed, and the Rift had let their ginger know as well. Still, this conformation caused a lot of questions to form in the mind of the physicist, mainly one fascinating one in particular.

"You look exactly like a human." Able stated, his eyes gliding over The Doctor's form.

That gained a now familiar scoff, "No, you look exactly like a Time Lord."

"So not my point." Able drawled out, unimpressed, "It's fascinating really, two different species probably with completely different circumstances considering the whole 'different planet' thing, and we look exactly alike, you couldn't tell that a 'Time Lord' isn't 'Human' by looks, or that a 'human' isn't a 'Time Lord'. The evolutionary process in comparison must be so interesting, usually I'm not into that kind of thing but–"

Rose elbowed Able to stop his little rant. The Doctor almost seemed to find some hilarity in the situation, if his quirking lips were anything to go by.

They moved passed Able's scientific curiosity though, "It's called a TARDIS, this thing. That's Time and Relative Dimension in Space."

Rose suddenly burst out into tears, Able recognized the sound as being true grief, so he turned to her with a great amount of worry, "Lover, what's wrong?"

She just sobbed on.

"It's okay, I'm guessing it's just culture shock. Happens to the best of us."

"Did they kill him? Mickey." Rose suddenly comes out with, looking depressed.

 _Oh, well that makes more sense than culture shock,_ Able thought to himself. Having never liked Mickey, he couldn't really relate all that well, in fact, having never had a lover other than Rose that lasted for more than a week, well, he had little way to empathize.

He could sympathies though.

"Rose, don't give up hope until there is only one other explanation." Able reasoned, his comforting skills a bit shaky.

"Huh... I hadn't thought about it like that." The Doctor said, almost under his breath.

"Oh my god, he pulled off my boyfriends head and he doesn't even care! Now he's just going to let him melt as well, oh my god, Mickey, how am I going to, I don't..." Rose trailed off, tears flowing from her eyes like little rivers.

"Melt?!" The Doctor exclaimed after a moment of thought, swiftly turning around toward the consol and frantically moving around the circular cylinder in the middle of the room, turning dials and pulling levers, exclaiming 'No!' the whole time.

"Well, this certainly doesn't seem good." Able commented in a dry tone, placing a comforting arm around Rose's shoulders as she watched, still completely devastated considering the situation with her boyfriend.

"The signal! It's fading, and fast, if I lose it before we get to the source..." The Doctor explained, still spinning around his consol at breakneck pace, "Almost there..."

Suddenly the man ran outside, leaving a crying, confused Rose, and a conflicted Able.

Rose, surprising considering her current state, was the first to pull herself together and practically pulled Able after The Doctor. Without another pause, both of them were jogging after the man that seemed to be frantically searching. Certainly, it helped to put the situation into perspective. It seemed that this was more important than just a few stray mannequins coming to life.

"We've moved." Rose spoke, looking around the area in shocked awe.

Able couldn't help but find it a bit weird all of five seconds ago, the girl was so utterly broken apart by the fact Mickey might be dead, and now she had gotten over it. She didn't seem like the shattered girl she had been before the TARDIS moved. The ginger hoped that it was just the fact she wasn't as attached to Mickey as she'd thought she was. The other opinion was unthinkable, she might just have been distracted from the pain for a moment. Why was this unthinkable? Because Able didn't want to think about his friend caring for someone as undeserving as Mickey. That, and the blue-eyed man would prefer his friend didn't have to suffer such pain.

At least, that was what one part of his mind was thinking, the other was going over ideas, theories, on how the TARDIS had moved.

Too short for a flight, as had it been a flight, surely they would have displaced too much air, or went through some buildings on the way. It had to have been some sort of teleportation, disappearing then reappearing somewhere else. Was the disappearing slow enough that no wound was made? If a sound was made, what was it, a sharp sort of crack when the returned air pushed back together, or a whistling that could be associating with fast movement, and if they disappeared from one place to another, why had the TARDIS' inside not shown any change, as surely if they disappeared they could have been able to see themselves disappear had the –

Able quickly answered several of his questions in his own mind, after all, he had learned several things about space and time from the Rift, and was a physicist. There were several others that he would need to actually ask The Doctor, but that could wait for a more fitting situation.

"Disappears there, then reappears here, you wouldn't understand." The Doctor said, answering Rose's inquiry.

Rose looked a little put out by that, "Maybe I wouldn't, but Able–"

"We also don't have the time to get the expanded answers that even I would need to understand something like this, Lover. We have plastic to deal with, after all." Able cut in, ignoring the interested look The Doctor had shot him.

"Oh god, how am I going to explain this to the police they'll never believe me." Rose spoke, looking rather stressed, running a hand through her hair after a brief pause.

Able shot his best friend a look, "Listen Rosie, no police okay? I don't need you taken away for being insane."

"But Mickey! It's got to be reported, he's dead, Able." Rose explained, looking a little bit frantic.

"We have more pressing concerns at the moment." The Doctor sternly reminded, looking a bit ticked off at the blondes thought process.

"Someone died and you think there is something more pressing! Oh my god, you seriously are an alien." Rose exclaimed, throwing her arms up in frustration.

The Doctor seemed to have a limit on the amount of back talk he could take, "If I want to put aside the fact that one little human is in danger, in order to save the whole lot of you blundering apes, you'd think it was alright!"

"Alright?!" Rose explained, looking shocked.

"Lover! Get over yourself a little bit. Stop thinking with your emotions and start using that beautiful, creative brain of yours." Able scolded suddenly, interrupting The Doctor, before he could argue farther with the blonde.

The ginger had a suspicion The Doctor could be quite mean when he wanted to be, and Able really didn't want that faced toward his friend. (Only he was able to be mean to Rosie.)

A silent moment later, Rose just nodded her agreement, reluctantly, and likely only because she was outnumbered, and tried to break the atmosphere in the best way she knew how, a little jab, "If you're an alien, how come you sound like you're from the North?"

"Lots of planets have a North."

"Now that, The Doctor, is bullshit." Able commented with a light-hearted grin.

The Doctor managed to pull off an indignant look, "And what would you know, The Able"

"You can't do that. I spoke my name that way to make fun of yours, stealing the joke is simply low form." Able complained, but didn't stop his grin, "Anyway, we should probably refocus on the matter at hand."

"Of course!" The Doctor explained, starting to look around a bit again, "First though, this living plastic, it's called the Nestene Consciousness, it loves you. Lost its planet in the war, now you guys, you're practically dinner. Little primitive species with a planet full of resources. To stop it, anti-plastic!"

"Anti-plastic?" Able murmured, his brow burrowing in thought. What would be the opposite of some sort of plastic. Or, perhaps, 'Anti-Plastic' was the name, and The Doctor didn't want to admit what it was. Plastic was actually surprisingly tough to get rid of, if you believe all the recycling drivel (Which, of course, you did. Unless you were an utter idiot, so as a scientist, Able was automatically a believer.) Perhaps the tube contained some sort of acid, or a deconstructive material that was similar.

Able needed to learn to control his thought process, the actions that were going on was far more important than his general curiosity. Besides, he would be able to see it in action soon enough, so there probably wasn't a need for the theorizing.

"Anti-Plastic!" The Doctor beamed, practically caressing the tube, "First though, I gotta find it. How does something this big hide itself in a city this small."

 _Oh yes, because this city is incredibly small, no way that something could be hidden here._ Able thought to himself, throwing a skeptical eyebrow toward The Doctor. This was London, not some backwater little town.

"What exactly we looking for?" Rose said, searching the skyline herself.

"Something big! A transmitter, it needs the transmitter if it wants to control ever piece of plastic around, as it will boost the signal."

A transmitter... Able mused, eyes gliding over their surroundings, before his eye caught on something.

A snort of laughter escaped him, as brilliant as The Doctor seemed, this particular oversight just proved that no one, not even an 'alien' of higher intelligence, was infallible. In the gingers world view, this was incredibly important.

"What are you laughing about over there?" The Doctor asked, his tone thick with both curiosity, and frustration.

A smirk pulled to the corner of Able's lips, "The Doctor, I believe the transmitter you are looking for is the London Eye."

"The London... Eye?" The Doctor ended, turning around to face the structure, and just staring at it for a few moments, than back at his companions, and back to the wheel, delight growing in his eyes, "You, The Able, are _fantastic_. Let's go then!"

Rose was covering her smile with the back of her hand.

 _Well, that was flattering_ , Able thought, but didn't have time to think of anything else, because The Doctor was already off, with Rose following behind him quickly enough, and a smidgen of a second later, Able took off after the two as well. It was a good quarter mile at least, before The Doctor stopped and turned toward the human's he had picked up.

"Just think of it, all of the plastic in the world being controlled. Every single plastic thing waiting to come alive, the shop window dummies, the phones, the wires, the cables."

"The breast implants." Rose interjected.

"Nice to know where your mind goes, although the image is quite horrifying." Able jibbed, earning another elbow in the side from his friend.

The Doctor seemed blind to that comment, too focused on finding the Nestene Consciousness to have idle conversation at this point, and when the friends were having their playful banter, he found some sort of maintenance hatch, "Over here!"

Moments later, they were climbing into the glowing red chamber without even questioning The Doctor. They walked just a bit more, trying to be as quiet as possible, until finally.

"That's the Nestene Consciousness right over there, in that vat."

"Well, tip in your anti-plastic and let's get out of here." Rose stated, looking a bit high on adrenaline.

"I'm not here to kill it." The Doctor stated flatly, "I've got to give it a chance."

"He's right, Rose. Even if the thing did kill Mickey, that still doesn't make it right to just go over there and give it the death sentence. Never mind the fact that Mickey is just a human, whereas this being is from a war ravaged planet, it might even be an endangered life form." Able reasoned out, forgetting for just a moment how emotionally Rose's thought process usually went.

Without waiting to hear their thoughts however, The Doctor had swaggered forward and was leaning against a bar, speaking downward, "I seek an audience with the Nestene Consciousness under peaceful contract according to convention 15 of the Shadow Proclamation."

Rose had caught her eye on something, because she took off, and even though her best friend was incredibly interested in what The Doctor had to say, he also knew that Rose needed more help than he did, and took off after her.

"Mickey!" Rose exclaimed, but her voice was a whisper, "You're alive, I thought you were dead."

"Well, at least my Lover here won't be hurt by your untimely passing." Able half-joked, half groaned. What was this kid, a cockroach? Able didn't want senseless deaths, but... Urgh, Mickey.

"Him being alive was always a possibility." The Doctor announced as he started to move passed the three humans and closer toward the Consciousness.

"What, and that just happened to slip your mind when I was crying hysterically?" Rose questioned, disbelief in her words.

"No, I just didn't want any domestics in my TARDIS."

After that, he strolled off, leaving Rose to comfort her traumatized boyfriend. Able watched him go off longingly, he wanted to get closer to the Consciousness too damn it! A plastic creature, and was, in all likelihood, about to get 'Ant-Plastic' poured on it. That was a once in a lifetime sight!

Instead, Able was going to watching over Mickey Smith.

"Am I addressing the Consciousness? Thanks, now, I just have to say, that considering you infiltrated this civilization by means of illegal warp technology, may I suggest that you shunt off?"

There was an answering groan from the Consciousness – It didn't sound extremely positive.

"You have to understand just how illegal this is, the planet is just starting, and the intellectuals here are capable of great things, even if the stupid little apes practically just learned how to walk. So I'll ask again, on their behalf until they can stand for themselves, to please, just go." There was a surprising amount of emotion in the mans voice – It occurred to Able that the man might know some humans here personally, after all, that emotion level doesn't just come from nowhere.

It also wasn't any of Able's business, but he was the type to catalog his discoveries regardless.

Out of the shadows, dummies appeared and restrained The Doctor, before anyone could even blink. One of them reached into The Doctor's heavy leather coat, and pulled out the vial of Anti-Plastic.

"That was just insurance! I wasn't going to use it, I swear I'm not trying to attack you, I'm just trying to protect the people here, as well as yourself. I'm not your enemy, I swear I'm not." The Doctor frantically defended, utterly earnest.

This however, didn't seem to appease the Consciousness, which gave an angered rumble, The Doctor went pale at whatever the vat of plastic said, before going back to his frantic explaining, "I swear, it's not like that. I mean yes, that is my ship, but..."

There was more groans, these ones seemed... Fearful, perhaps a bit mourningful, but still full of a self-righteous anger, "That's not true! I would know, I fought in that war, and it wasn't my fault. I am just one man, I couldn't save your world, I couldn't save anybody!"

"The Doctor, what's going on?" Able called down, his voice forced itself into a woefully inappropriate lightness.

"It's the TARDIS, the Consciousness can feel it's superior technology, and thinks it has no time to waste, it's starting the invasion early, leg it, get out of here before it's too late!" The Doctor explained, struggling to get out of the hold the dummies had him in.

Mickey and Rose seemed to frantically search for a way out, meanwhile, Able was thinking a bit ahead of the game.

He doubted that something which could control all the plastic around hadn't already blocked all the potential exists. The best way to deal with this particular situation was probably to get The Doctor free, either that, or get the Anti-Plastic itself. Since the ginger didn't actually know anything about the Anti-Plastic – Which he now regretted – Freeing The Doctor was the way to go.

He grabbed an ax that was laid against the walls for emergencies and looked at the chain, hitting it repeatedly and murmuring to himself as he tried to get the bolts to break, "It's easy, just don't over think the living plastic below, you can do this, just a bit of trajectory math, nothing you haven't done a million times before, it's easy even, A level work, simple enough–"

"Alternatively, you could let me use the one good skill I have, school gymnastics team, I got the bronze." Rose chimed in, giving her ginger friend an adrenaline filled smile, just as the bolts finally broke and the chain fell.

"Oh Lover, you are such a live saver." Able grinned, handing the chain off to the blonde, having faith in her ability.

The blonde was off, and The Doctor worked in tandem, throwing one of the dummies into the Consciousness, and ducking out of Rose's way as she swept the other one toward the same fate. Consequently, the one that she kicked in, was the one holding the Anti-Plastic.

Clearly enough, the Anti-Plastic was _not_ some sort of acid. Those thoughts, however, could wait, as Able watched with worry for his friend. The Doctor caught her, said a few inaudible words, and they were jogging back toward the TARDIS, which, apparently, the Consciousness had thankfully delivered right close to them.

The Consciousness started to explode, causing several chain reactions that was starting to shake the ceiling, Able was sure that it wouldn't be able to last too much longer under the stress.

The Doctor and the three humans quickly gathered in front of the TARDIS and the door was swiftly unlocked, all of them rushing inside, and The Doctor quickly rushed toward his console, happily dancing around it, pressing a few buttons, adjusting a few dials, before finally he stopped in front of one lever, and he pulled it.

Able quickly fell to the floor as the TARDIS did it's thing.

The ginger would have been embarrassed, if he took himself too seriously.

The second they had hit solid ground, Mickey was out of there like a rocket, Rose following after, but Able... Able stayed and looked around again, almost regretfully. He doubted that The Doctor would be sticking around after this, considering the Consciousness was dealt with, and humans, despite how much The Doctor seemed to care for them, were outside of his general intelligence.

After another drawn out moment, Able left the TARDIS, not knowing The Doctor had been watching his reactions.

"I saw you cowering in there, Mick. Not much help were you, clinging to Rose like a wee-bit of a thing." Able taunted Mickey, only half joking once again.

By the look of the glare Mickey gave Able for the 'joke' the guy knew that.

"Nestene Consciousness? Easy!" The Doctor commented, leaning up against the TARDIS' blue box like form.

Rose, having just got off the phone with checking in on her mother, swiftly interjected with a teasing look, "You'd be dead if it wasn't for me and Able, you were pretty shit in there."

"Yes, I suppose I would be. Thank you." The Doctor said rather gratefully, "Now, just think of it, you little apes saved billions, BILLIONS of people today. Don't go forgetting that."

"As if I could, especially after meeting someone as handsome as you. Although I do wish you'd be sticking around, thought that surely you could woo Rosie away from that useless lump with those charming ears of yours." Able teased, giving the 'alien' a grin, so genuine that it had shocked the ginger.

He didn't think he'd grinned like that for someone other than Rose or the Rift in ... So long.

"Well, I guess I'll be off then... Of course... Rose, The Able, you could come with me." The Doctor mentioned, "This box isn't just a London hopper, you know. Anywhere in this vast, ever expanding universe, and it's all free of charge."

"I'm going." Able announced, without even a second thought. The Doctor shot a grin his way -

Rose grabbed his arm as the ginger made to step forward, "You can't just leave! You have work at the college, research, responsibilities!"

"I have backlogged research, I've done so much work I could take a few years off and they wouldn't notice it." Able spoke, waving away Rose's disapproval with a flippant hand, and escaped her hold, walking toward the TARDIS.

"Thanks for the invite, The Doctor, I have so many questions, oh man this is going to be amazing, and so much, the possibilities!" Able spoke, his eyes gleaming childishly.

Rose watched her friend with a somber eye, she hadn't seen him that way... So happy... Ever. Not even once since they met had she seen Able look so ecstatic about anything. Rose wanted nothing more than to to after them, but unlike Able, she did have actually responsibilities.

"You can't go with him anyway, he's an alien, a thing!" Mickey exclaimed, causing a pause in Able's grateful glee.

"Gee Mick, throw in some light racism, why not. That's just... disgusting, and I thought you couldn't possibly be more undeserving of My Lover... Always going above and beyond expectations though, aren't you." Able sneered, trying to calm himself.

"Stop calling Rose that!" Mickey exclaimed, just getting a glare from the gingers now flat blue eyes.

He just didn't understand how the guy could be so god damn close minded.

The Doctor seemed to agree, just flatly saying, "He's not invited."

"I can't... I have to look after my mum, I wish I could..." Rose spoke to The Doctor and Able, giving them sad eyes.

"Okay... I'll, I guess I might see you around, come on then, The Able." The Doctor spoke, as the two herded themselves into the TARDIS, moments later, the blue box disappeared. Not without Able getting a quick okay from the Rift though, even though the Rift seemed weirdly melancholy, it still agreed to allow Able to go, as they were close, that was all the acceptance Able needed.

...

The Doctor was clearly rather unhappy with the way things had gone down – It seemed he really wanted Rose along for the ride. Probably hard to dislike someone that had saved your life, after all.

"So, where too? Companion get' to choose the first trip, anywhere, anytime."

"... Anytime?" Able asked, just about ready to smack himself in the face over The Doctor's stupidity, and his own, for having forgotten to mention it himself.

"Oh, yes, I didn't mention that?" The Doctor looked as though he was border lining on flustered for just a second, before regaining control of himself, and just grinning at his new companion.

"You didn't mention it to Rose either." Able pointed out, giving the man a significant look.

It still took him a few moments to catch on, "Oh, you think...?"

"Yep."

"I didn't think of that..."

"Aren't you glad you have me then?" Able snarked, but in a banter sort of way.

The Doctor gave an enthusiastic grin, "Yes, yes I am, The Able! You are simply fantastic, I can't believe I didn't think of that." A second later, they were back before Rose, The Doctor stuck his head out, repeated the fact the TARDIS did, in fact, travel in time, and a few seconds later, an equally as enthusiastic Rose was bordering the TARDIS.

"So, The Able, Rose Tyler, where to first?" Said the grinning Doctor, facing them with his back to the controls.

**R &R**

**So, what do you think of Able now?! I have GOT to know. Let me know if it was different enough from the show to be something readable as well. If it wasn't, I can work on that.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything that I've written. Yep, that's right, I own not even one iota of the below work.

**Summary:** Able is an actual doctor, and so, so much more. We all know 'The Doctor' does have a pendent for running into impossible things - and if Able was anything, he was an impossible thing. (A twist on the usual OC and The Doctor formula has original ideas and later on, canon divergence. M/M)

**Warnings:** This is a Doctor Who fic, so I doubt any of the readers will turn down reading this just because it's slash. After all, we have the canon Jack Harkness. (Who deserves a warning all on his own.) Canon typical violence, language, and later on there will probably be more explicit sexual content.

**Chapter Warnings:** Extreme violence (Murder) and Cursing (Fuck, Ass, etc.)

**Authour Note:** So this was a particularly long chapter to write, but I'm more than happy with it. I have a HUGE change from what Rose does in cannon this chapter, which always is a good sign for stories like these I should think. This is only the beginning of Able's story, so if you feel for him now, just you wait my lovely readers.

I've been giving a bit of thought to what I want to do with the relationships. I'm kind of thinking that maybe it could be a threesome. I highly doubt Able would have a problem with that. (In fact, I know that he wouldn't.) I also suspect that The Doctor wouldn't have much of a problem with it either. Why do I think that? Probably because I think in the future, those sort of barriers have fallen. Jack Harkness is such a good example of this - and The Doctor isn't one to discriminate. So, having said that little plan, we have options. Not to say it will actually happen, as it might not, but if it _does_ here are the options: Rose Tyler, Jack Harkness, The Master, and River Song, I should think. I thought about the inclusion of Clara, but I'm not a huge fan of her. Martha, I don't really like her all that much, but I could be persuaded.

As for the current shipping for season one, I plan to have Able kind of pinning after The Doctor, and using (Mutally I assure you) Jack as a way to deal with his, shall we say, cravings. The two will undoubtedly get along, as I'm sure I haven't spoiled for you considering Able's character.

Any who, those are some musings on the current direction of the story. If you have any ideas you can feel free to send them to me via review, PM, anything you want.

As for this long ass authour note, I feel pretty justified considering just how long the chapter itself is, I mean who wouldn't?

**Chapter Three: The End of the World**

...

_"Aren't you glad you have me then?" Able snarked, but in a banter sort of way._

_The Doctor gave an enthusiastic grin, "Yes, yes I am, The Able! You are simply fantastic, I can't believe I didn't think of that." A second later, they were back before Rose, The Doctor stuck his head out, repeated the fact the TARDIS did, in fact, travel in time, and a few seconds later, an equally as enthusiastic Rose was bordering the TARDIS._

_"So, The Able, Rose Tyler, where to first?" Said the grinning Doctor, facing them with his back to the controls._

_..._

"I can easily say that it doesn't matter one bit for me." Able said, his grin still spread wide across his face.

Joining The Doctor was probably one of the best decisions Able had ever made, he could just feel it. For the first time in years, he was deviating from the same old things he did every day, and not only that, but this was completely off the rails! Something that few would ever, could ever, experience, and the ginger would be one of the few. Curiosity, excitement, awe, all of those feelings were running through the blue-eyed males mind.

"Forwards!" Rose claimed after a moment of thinking it over.

The Doctor just nodded, his own answering grin still on his lips, "How far?"

"Three seconds!" Able exclaimed, his eyes interested.

"... Three seconds?" The Doctor asked, both dangerously curious, and rather put out. Who gets on a time machine, then asks go to three seconds into the future.

Able practically bounced in place, "For comparison! Last time when the TARDIS moved, I had my ass handed to me, does it move different because time is in use? Will it be more turbulent, or, perhaps, is it easier. How does it move through time, does it go somewhere else, time travel, then use the _'teleport'_ to show back up in the area you want to be? Will three seconds be different from ten years, or a thousand?"

Rose promptly elbowed Able's side again, interrupting his rushing speech, "Ignore this nerd, 100 years?"

Able was in his own head once again, from what he knew about space and time, via the Rift, the TARDIS would have to _'teleport'_ to a Rift, then use the _'time travel'_ ability, then ' _teleport_ ' back to where the location the user wanted to be. That, however, was knowledge that came from time travel that wasn't involved with a TARDIS, anything could be different!

A few moments later, Able was on his ass again, staring at the ceiling in shock.

The Doctor had moved the TARDIS well the ginger was thinking, and clearly, Able hadn't braced himself properly.

"The Able doesn't seem to have the legs for this yet." The Doctor teased.

"Well then, The Doctor, perhaps you should become a better driver."

The Doctor ignored that comment, Able thought be probably heard it a few times, but before the ginger could inquire, The Doctor was speaking again, "Now, outside those doors, it's the twenty-second century, Earth, London. Honestly though, that's a bit boring, want to go a bit farther?"

Rose just shrugged and agreed, Able was already amazed enough, and kind of wanted to go outside and check, but didn't interrupt The Doctor as he twirled around his TARDIS. Able took this chance to sit up, but didn't bother standing up once again, there was only so many times Able could fall on his ass before his almost non-existent pride broke. A wobbly trip later, the TARDIS stilled.

"Several thousand years into the future and the New Roman Empire is in charge." The Doctor explained, giving Rose and Able an almost smug grin.

"Hmm... That certainly seems like a bit of a step back, and The Roman Empire of all things, I would have thought something more like, 'The Trump' Empire would be more likely." Able mused to himself, trying to figure just how the Roman's ended up returning. Especially considering they had what, one tiny little city at this point. Not even that, if you really thought about it. No one said,' _I'm Roman!_ 'They say, _'I'm Italian!'_

Rose however, just grinned at The Doctor, "You think you're so impressive."

Able's eyes snapped toward his blonde friend, because the ginger knew that tone, she was flirting! Able didn't think he could be happier, finally, FINALLY! His friend was drifting away from Mickey in a grand total of five minutes in The Doctor's presence. He'd certainly have to thank the man even more profoundly if he managed it.

"I am so impressive." The Doctor returned, an affronted expression coating his face.

Able so wanted to say that yes, the man was impressive. Because _ARE YOU KIDDING ME_! A time machine, the _FUCKING NEW ROMAN EMPIRE_! Instead, he remained quiet, and let his friend finish her little flirt, like the amazing wing-man that he was.

"You wish."

The Doctor seemed to take this as the challenge that it was, and his eyes narrowed, and his lips lifted in a competitive smirk, "Right then, don't say you didn't ask for it! I know exactly where to go, hold on! Especially you, The Able, only so many times you can fall before you get a permanent bruise."

"But, The Doctor, if it was you that gave me that bruise, I might not mind that much." Able teasingly protested, making sure to keep the tone friendly, not flirty, he wanted to keep his position as best wing-man after all.

The Doctor shot his ginger companion a little glare, but just started to do a now familiar swirl around the controls, and the TARDIS jerked around frantically, making Rose grab onto one of the columns around them. Had Able actually gotten up before, he likely would have fallen again.

The TARDIS stopped, and Able pushed himself up off the floor, "So, where are we?"

The man just grinned and gestured toward the doors.

Able wasted no time nearly jogging his way over to them, knowing that Rose was right behind him, and, almost in a state of awe, he opened the door. It was an open room of some sort, brightly coloured, in a style that the ginger hadn't seen before.

Then, he saw it

A large window, and a beautiful overview of the Earth. Without another thought, Able walked over to the Window and placed a hand on it, staring at the sight before him in a gentle sort of awe. It was beautiful, the ginger never thought he'd live to see such a sight, but there it was. The sight was so distracting, Able didn't even notice the other two coming up behind him.

"You stupid, amazing humans... You spend all of your time thinking about how the future you have is a train wreck, as though whatever will cause your extinction is around the corner. You worry over global warming, sickness, diseases, but you never seem to stop for just a second and imagine, that maybe you actually make it. This is the year 5.5/apple/26, five billion years in your future in a few seconds is the day that the sun expands. This is the end of your world." The Doctor explained, a gentle emotion displayed through him. What that emotion was, Able didn't know, but it was certainly there –

Able could feel something touching his mind again. The same knowing touch as before, and there wasn't anything the ginger could do to stop it.

The feeling lasted for just a second, maybe even shorter, but it was enough to spoil the precious moment.

...

...

...

"Doesn't it take hundreds of years for the Sun to expand?" Rose asked, remembering something vague from some of the documentaries that her best friend had forced her to go to a few times.

Able hummed in thought, "No, it takes billions of years, although strictly speaking, somewhere in the three billion year range, all of the water on Earth should have evaporated and Earth would be a desert waste land, no life would have lived that long on the planet, but there is still water on Earth, although you can tell it's receding now incredibly quickly."

"Quite right, The Able, the answer you are looking for is money. The planet has been in possession of The National Trust, they've been keeping it preserved. See down there, those are gravity satellites that were holding back the sun. Flip them off, and bye-bye Earth." The Doctor explained.

"I'm guessing it's become a bit like Yellowstone National Park - Just larger. People pay out their ass to see a protected property, to see nature as it was. Probably why all the continents are the same as well, adds some authenticity." Able mused, studying the Earth as the water evaporated into nothing as they watched the sun pulsate.

"Essentially, and when it stopped being profitable for The Nation Trust, they decided to get one last show out of it. The great and the good gathered in one place – Exclusively – So that they can be the ones to state 'I am one of the ones that watched it go.' Typical, because when I say the great and the good, I actually mean the rich." The Doctor finished, his tone matter of fact.

Able scrunched his nose, because honestly, that was history down there. You would think it was a bit more than just a profit, then again, it had been over five billion years. Maybe it was so old at this point, the planet was practically worthless. Assumptions make an ass out of you and me, after all. Still, Able couldn't help but feel a weird attachment, a sense of wrong, and he didn't like it.

A voice came on the loud speaker, _"Shuttles five and six now docking. Guests are reminded that Platform One forbids the use of weapons, teleportation and religion. Earth death is scheduled for 15:39, followed by drinks in the Manchester suite."_

The ginger tilted his head to the side as he thought of the message, "That's a bit weird, weapons, teleportation and religion of all things. I suppose having more than one religion in one place can be just as dangerous as a weapon in the hands of some..."

"That ain't right." Rose said, looking a bit upset now that Able had pointed it out, "People should be able to practice what they believe in."

The Doctor looked back and forth between his two new companions, and couldn't help but find himself overall impressed. Especially with Able, and all the weird time stuff that surrounded him, in addition to all the open-minded opinions and thought processes. Rose was every bit as wonderful though, always asking the right questions, pointing the right thing out, arguing for her morals and just genuinely being the best for of humans there was.

"Those people docking, are they people?" Rose asked, her voice coated with an innocent curiosity.

"Depends on what you mean by the word people I suppose." The Doctor said, almost flatly.

"I mean, just, _people_." Rose helplessly tried to clarify.

The Doctor nodded, but turned to face his ginger companion, who had fallen a bit silent as he watched the byplay, "What do you think, The Able?"

"About who will be coming this this little event?" Able clarified, but didn't wait for an answer, "I'd expect a whole bunch of different species. If humans survived this long, five billion years, I would guess we've become a bit like the cockroaches of the Universe. We mate like rabbits after all, so I'm guessing anyone that even slightly works with humans might have a stake in coming, and that could be anyone, or anything. I guess, in other words, I have absolutely no idea, but I'm dying of curiosity to find out."

When Able finished, he was bouncing on his toes, practically ready to dash off to explore the little station they were at. He caused him to miss the measured impressed look that The Doctor shot toward him, as he glanced around with a childlike excitement that seemed to only be growing.

"Cockroaches of the Universe?" The Doctor said, letting a snort escape him, "I don't think I've ever heard a more spot on explanation."

Able just gave The Doctor a grin, before turning toward Rose, "Lover, isn't this amazing? Oh man, I'm so glad I came... This is going to be the best thing ever..."

They started to walk after that, although Able could tell that Rose was slightly uncomfortable with the whole situation. Perhaps it was the culture shock that The Doctor had expected from her yesterday?

...

...

...

"How long's it got." Rose suddenly asked, rather solemnly as the three made their way toward, well, the humans didn't know as they were just following The Doctor.

"About half an hour before the planet gets roasted."

"Is that why we're here than? You going to jump in last minute and save the Earth?" She asked, almost hopefully.

"Too late." Able cut in, walking backwards for a few minutes so he could face Rose directly, "The water at this point has completely evaporated, and the trees and such are already dying. Even if he stopped and recompressed the sun, it's already gone too far. The atmosphere of the planet is completely ruined, the orbit is also off now, considering the gravitational pull of the sun has completely changed."

"The Able is right, even besides, even if I wanted to, everything dies at some point. Time's up for the Earth, there isn't anything left there anyway. Either it was taken off, or it's already dead or dying. Anything valuable is gone, any animals were taken away 'Noah Ark' style." The Doctor explained, normally he would have kept the answer more susinct and left out such details, but Able would just dig in and ask the questions, no point in avoiding it.

Rose looked almost devastated, "But, the history! Never mind the fact that even if they did take some species out, there would still be thousands, millions of life forms down there – "

"Like I said, it's too late. This is just one particular planets extinction event. This sort of thing happens everywhere in this Universe, Lover. Normally it wouldn't have even lasted this long, something to be thankful for." Able tried to reason to her emotions.

The ginger did think she was overreacting a bit, and once again thinking more with her heart than her mind – Yet he did admire Rosie's adherence to her views and morals. If Able had to guess, The Doctor agreed at least in part with the gingers way of thinking, as he did seem rather nonchalant about this entire experience.

"I guess it's just me and Able then..." Rose gave up, looking full of mourning.

Yes, she was too hung up on this, "Rosie, didn't you hear The Doctor? He said that humans survived, they are among the stars, maybe changed, maybe different, but there. We aren't alone, not even close." Able finished, trying to pull her way of thinking around.

Rose managed a smile, but not much more.

The Doctor looked likely to interject, but a blue skinned man rounded a corner and speed walked toward us, "Who the hell are you people?"

Able looked at 'him' with curiosity. Blue skin, an extremely vibrant blue, some darker markings on (His, an assumption, maybe 'his' race didn't have gender, for all Able knew) but otherwise extremely humanoid in appearance.

The Doctor seemed to take that particular greeting in stride, as if the blue skinned humanoid had given him the best compliment he'd ever gotten, "Oh, that's nice, thank you!"

"How did you get in here, this is a maximum hospitality zone which will contain high degree guests in only a few more seconds!" The being stated, their voice sounding completely bewildered, perhaps a bit panicked.

"That's me! I'm a guest, look here, I've got an invitation." The Doctor reached into his jacket and pulled out a wallet or some sort with a blank piece of paper inside, "It says right here, The Doctor, The Able, and this is our plus one, Rose Tyler."

"Oh dear, our apologies, please excuse us, if you are aboard, we had better start. Enjoy." The being said, their skin flushing a deeper blue as he scuttled off.

"The Doctor, how exactly does showing them a blank piece of paper accomplish anything?" Able asked.

"It looks blank to you?!" The Doctor exclaimed, looking rather excited, "That's simply brilliant, I mean, you are simply brilliant, The Able. The paper is slightly psychic you see, normally it just shows people whatever the user wants them to see. It saves a lot of time, but you see a blank sheet!"

"I must be incredibly talented then." Able claimed almost sarcastically, a bit put out by his inability to see what was on the paper. Seemed like such an interesting thing, he'd like to experience it.

"That's just it! You have to be remarkable to not see something on the paper, especially when it's in the hands of someone like me. Either you are incredibly smart, or you have some latent psychic abilities, perhaps." The Doctor exclaimed.

Able grinned, rather unabashed, but didn't say anything rather. Although he did wonder if it was his psychic abilities, or his intellectual ones that allowed him to see the blank. Either way, he did feel a little bit special now that The Doctor more thoroughly explained it – Not that he'd be letting him know that –

"Awwh, he's flattered. Doctor, did you know Able is an actual Doctor? Got one in Theoretical Physics – " Rose started to explain, before she was cut off.

"Lover, don't go giving away all my secrets, you'll take the mystery out of the relationship!" Able teasingly interrupted, but before the banter could continue, the other guests started arriving.

The familiar humanoid spoke, giving a little clap, "We have in our presence, The Doctor, The Able, and Rose Tyler, all staff to their positions!"

A bunch of short, blue, bustling humanoids rushed through the hall, standing at attention, going into the back. They wore black, helmets, all of which seemed to be made of a material that looked like a cross between latex and leather.

"Now, the next honoured guest, from the Forest of Cheem, we have trees namely Jabe, Lute, and Coffa."

_Now they were impressive looking_ , Able thought to himself, his eyes especially straying toward Jabe. She was, simply put, incredibly good looking. Now, Able had no idea how a _partnership_ with a tree would work, but he was more than willing to learn.

"There will be an exchange of gifts to represent peace, if we could keep the room circulating, thank you!"

The ginger didn't have anything on him to offer as a gift of peace, but considering how many cultures were going to be mixing here, he was sure his considerable mind could whip something up.

"Now, we have the Moxx of Balhoon. Followed by The Adherents of the Repeated Meme..." The list went on and on, more and more people entering the room, and Able honestly couldn't get enough. So many different types of people, they all had unique looks to them, different traits, and accomplishments attached to their names.

A few moments later, the tree which Able had been eyeing a bit made her way over, her voice regal as she was, "The Gift of Peace. I bring you a cutting of my Grandfather."

The Gift was a small plant growing in a pot of soil, it looked healthy and was clearly an intimate gift, which meant they would be expected to respond in kind. As the gift was given to The Doctor, he passed it down to Rose, and turned back toward the tree, "Yes, Gifts, I give you in return.. Air from my lungs."

The Doctor went on to take a breath, and gently blow it across Jabe's face.

Able could feel his lips twitching into a smirk, because that move, not so subtle, but extremely smooth.

"Such an intimate gift." She commented, a flirty grin on her lips.

Which, The Doctor returned, "There's more where that came from."

Then, Jabe turned toward Able with an expectant look, and in a fit of brilliance, he grasped the perfect idea, reached up to his head, and pulled out three strands of hair before handing them over, "My DNA, as a show of trust, considering my rare genetics on my planet." _And time._

The tree grasped the strands, apparently rather happy to accept the gift, "Truly a gift of trust."

The tree didn't turn to Rose, instead just walked away toward some of the other guests. Apparently, that was the sight The Doctor gave the tree when he passed the gift to Rose, as though Rose was something more like a 'plus one' than the equal he presented Able as. Which made this experience much more fun for Able.

Especially considering the view he got as the trees walked away, perhaps his eyes drifted a little bit lower than socially acceptable in his time line, but who could blame him?

"Great thinking, The Able." The Doctor praised, and the ginger also got an impressed look from Rose.

Able couldn't withhold a chuckle, "My Gift was almost as intimate as yours, The Doctor."

The man had the grace to look a bit embarrassed – and what was that – a hint of jealousy from his best friend? Not to mention, the blonde looked truly overwhelmed. Not that he could blame her, inside he was bouncing around like a child on a sugar high himself, but compartmentalization helped him out in that regard.

The Face of Boa was announced, and wasn't that an impressive sight, it took him away from thinking of his best friend, but Rose knew him, surely she wouldn't mind, because the Face... Was amazing. Huge even, a head that was human sized, in a jar of sorts.

His observations were cut short, as the Moxx of Balhoon rolled over.

"Ah, the Moxx of Balhoon." The Doctor stated.

The little roller, a lighter blue than the other humanoid they'd met spoke up in a surprising tone, "My facilitation upon this historical happenstance I give you the gift of bodily saliva."

He then promptly spat on Able's face.

Able gave the Moxx an enthusiastic grin, and pulled out a few of his hairs, "I give you the gift of rare DNA. Thank you for your gift, it was a pleasure."

"He just... spat on you." Rose stated in shock, watching as the Moxx rolled away to the next guest. The Doctor nearly gave a snicker at her reaction. Able didn't even bother to wipe it off, it only landed on his cheek after all, and it was a gift.

"That was awesome." Able said, his eyes sparkling, and just, the whole thing was unbelievable, Rose's reactions weren't enough to bring him down. The blonde wasn't as open minded as he was, and Able knew he couldn't change that, but he could just accept it and move on.

Next came the Adherence of the Repeated Meme, The Doctor and Able both gave their respective gifts, and The Doctor handed the orb over to the still overwhelmed Rose.

Wait a second, the Adherence of the Repeated Meme? That sounded like the sort of beings that would be religious, perhaps the reason religion had been banned in this instance? Able mused, but didn't bother thinking about it too hard. Instead, he resolved to himself to just enjoy it, deeper thought could wait, The Doctor made it rather clear they were going to be his companions. Questions and theories could wait.

The ginger just wanted to live this.

The announcer spoke again, "Finally, in memory of this dying world, we call forth the Last Human. The Lady Cassandra O'Brien Dot Delta Seventeen."

Able fancied himself rather open minded, but when he thought of the evolution of human kind, this wasn't what he had expected. Lady Cassandra was literally a piece of skin with extremely large, visible veins running through her, and finally a face. Two people were following her, wheeling her skin out, they seemed to be wearing some sort of protective suit.

Rose started to step closer to Cassandra, a mix of fascinated and disgusted. The Doctor on the other hand, seemed to find the situation – Especially Rose's reactions – Utterly hilarious.

"Truly, I don't look a day over 2000, you don't need to stare." The Lady flattered herself, "I am the last human, my father was a Texan, and my mother was from the Arctic Desert. They were born on that planet below, some of the last to be cremated on the Earth, I have come to honour them and say goodbye. To do so, I have brought gifts, from the Earth itself, the last remaining ostrich egg."

The egg was brought out, "Legends says it had a wingspan of 50 feet and blew fire from its nostrils – Or, was that my third husband."

_Zing_ , Able thought, unable to keep the small amused smile from his lips.

"Oh no! Don't make me laugh, I'll get laughter lines. Here, is another rare item. According to the archives I've collected, this was called an iPod. It stores classical music from humanities greatest composers. Go on, play it."

The song that came on wasn't something that Able recognized, but it had a nice beat to it, something that you could dance too. The Doctor apparently agreed, because he wasted no time bobbing his head along, "Nice moves, bet you get all the partners with that one."

"How'd you know?" The Doctor asked, giving a look of exaggerated shock once more.

The song must have been too fitting for the moment, because the overburdened Rose took off in a light jog, her emotions clearly at the boiling point. Able wasted no time running after her, unknown to him, The Doctor was also following.

...

...

...

Able found Rose staring out the window at a devastated planet Earth, and it was a sad sight to behold. He did share Rose's horrified fascination, although not to the same extent. The Earth was brown, nothing green, blue, no clouds, just a ball of brown, which was slowly turning deeper, likely because of the repeated pulsations of the sun rays charring it.

"You don't seem to be taking this very well, Lover." Able announced his presence as he saddled up to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

Rose pushed her head into her best friends neck, taking in the comfort for a moment, "It's just... Overwhelming. We are watching the destruction of our planet with... Just... A bunch of aliens."

"I don't know if this will help or not, but think for just a moment, that to them, you're the one that is the alien. All of those species went through what you are feeling right now, and they all came out the other side and created something fantastic."

Rose smiled a little bit, Able could feel it, "You did get spit on."

"I know! Amazing right?!" Able exclaimed, pulling away from Rose and just grinning at her, "This opportunity will likely never come to someone else in our time frame, we are special, and it's just, I mean, I'm one of the people chosen. The odds are several billion against two, and I was one of the two. I just can't stop thinking about how lucky I am, and getting to see all these cultures, the people who are famous in this era, the advancements that have been made – "

"Alright nerd, I get it." Rose teased, having calmed herself significantly enough, and jokingly picked up the clipping they received, "Hello, I'm Rose, that's a sort of plant, we have something in common."

Able was about to burst into laughing, when he caught something moving out the corner of his eye, something that came out of the gift they'd received from the Adherents of the Repeated Meme. Able could feel a bolt of apprehension run through him, and proceeded to pretend that he hadn't seen it at all. Eyeing it out of the corner of his eye, but otherwise just giving Rosie a little smile.

The ginger almost acted when it seemed like it was about to do something to Rose, but before he could, The Doctor's arriving voice scared it off.

"Rose, The Able, are you in there?" Before either could answer though, the door opened and The Doctor rushed in.

He sat himself down opposite to where Rose and Able were sitting next to each other, "What did you think then?"

"It's amazing, I think this might be the best day of my life." Able said, his voice softening as the extent of his awe showed itself, "Jabe especially, she's one good looking tree."

Rose gave her usual response, and dug her elbow into Able's side, "You pig! She's a tree for god's sake."

"A good looking tree that I would be more than willing to experiment on inter-species relations with." Able retorted, although he was being completely honest.

The Doctor ran a marveling look across Able's face, "You are a special one, The Able. If nothing else, I'd say you were born in the wrong century. Mindset like that, I bet you'd love the 51st. Maybe we'll take a trip their soon, I'm sure you'll find lots of like minded humans and species to, how did you phrase it, _experiment on inter-species relations with."_

Able could feel interest flash through his eyes, but Rose ended up blurting out her feelings, "Their just so... Alien, the aliens are so alien, you look at them, and they are just so... Alien."

"Good thing I didn't take you to the deep south." The Doctor commented, making fun of Rose a bit, but he probably deserved that, considering Rose's borderline offensive comment.

The ginger could feel his distaste for the word Alien growing the more it was said in his presence. He didn't want to rub Rose wrong when she was clearly having acceptance issues, so he didn't mention it, instead making a different comment, "Heard there's tons of aliens of the human sort there."

There was a pause as the room went quiet.

"Where are you from?" Rose suddenly asked.

The Doctor looked away from his companions for a few moments, and looked at the charring Earth, "All over the place."

"They all speak English." Rose realized, her head tilted in thought.

_Good old Rose, always pointing out interesting little facts._ Able thought to himself, only now realizing what she said was true. It seemed rather impossible for all those different species to have the same language as humans – In fact – It seemed a bit silly for humans to have English as their main language still. Languages evolved, and it had been five billion years.

The doctor just laid down and propped his head on his hand, "No, you hear English. It's a gift from the TARDIS, she puts a telepathic field in your head, then she translates for you."

That... It explained so much, and honestly Able wasn't sure how to feel about it. To him, the idea of something just randomly going inside his mind, rummaging around, was practically akin to rape, and why wouldn't it be? Yet, The Doctor seemed rather nonchalant about it – Which meant something like this clearly wasn't a big deal to him. Perhaps it was normal among his people? The ginger fought the urge to lash out, stayed quietly contemplative, even as Rose did the opposite.

"It's inside our brains? Your machine went inside our brains, changes our minds, and you didn't even ask?" Rose spoke, her disgust plain to hear.

"I didn't think about it like that..." The Doctor spoke, looking rather confused.

That essentially settled that – Something like this was probably not important in The Doctor's culture. An accident, if even that, barely even a small oversight on The Doctor's part. Plus, not at least Able knew just what the being touching his mind had been, and that was better than a mystery.

"Lover... I don't think what happened is considered _rude_ in The Doctor's culture. Maybe we should just let it go. If anything, it's probably the equivalent of someone coming up and groping your arse real quick – It doesn't really matter, if anything it came out better for us." Able reasoned out.

The Doctor shot him a grateful glance, although it was still quite clear that he didn't understand the problem, he seemed adapt enough about dealing with other species to just accept the insult he made, apologize (ish) and then move on.

Rose however, was not in the mood for calming down. Perhaps it had been the day she had, overwhelming as it had been, "Who are you Doctor? What are you called? What sort of alien are you?"

"Rosie... Calm down a bit, no need for all this." Able cautioned, seeing The Doctor get more and more tense as she continued, the man sitting up instead of the previous relaxed position.

"I'm just The Doctor." He answered.

"From what planet?" She persisted.

His face screwed up in what might have been pain, "Well, it's not as if you'll know where it is."

"He's got a point, Lover. Just leave it alone, what does it matter where someone comes from. It's who they are that matters."

"Able just... Stop! He's taken us half way across the universe and we don't know a think about him." Rose hissed out, before turning back to The Doctor, "Where are you from?"

"What does it matter! The Able even agrees with me."

"I'm not talking to him, I'm talking to you! Just tell us who you are!" Rose exclaimed, throwing her hands up, getting fed up.

"This is who I am, right here, right now! Nothing else matters, you humans, you put too much stalk in the past! I'm the me that's here, that's it!" The Doctor eventually yelled back, finally losing his patience with his blonde companion.

"Yeah but I'm here now as well cause you brought me here so just tell me!"

"SHUT UP!" Able shouted, glaring at the both of them with a surprising amount of scathing, "I don't like arguing, especially not about something as _utterly stupid_ as what species The Doctor is. Rose, stop being close minded, what does his species matter? It's who he is as a person that matters."

The Doctor managed to look smug for half a tick before the angry red-head turned toward him, "You, The Doctor, should not have risen to the bait. Sure, you have every right not to tell her, but you don't get to be angry at her because she wants to know, especially in this situation. You're the more mature of us, you should be expected to act that way."

Able was still boiling angry and he knew why. Rare as it was, when he got angry, the mood stuck with him for a long time, until he found some sort of release for it.

Outwardly, he forced himself to be more controlled. Inwardly, he was a mass of red hot anger.

At least, both Rose and The Doctor had shut up about their stupid argument. In fact, Rose had turned over toward The Doctor and apologized, which The Doctor accepted, and asked to see Rose's phone, but before she could hand it over, the entire ship started to shake wildly.

Able, who had been standing when the shaking started, was surprised to find himself still on his feet when it stopped. Had he been in a better mood, he likely would have cheered aloud for himself, as it was, he still kind of wanted to kill something.

The Doctor had a grin though, not just any grin, but the same borderline manic grin that he'd had just before facing the Consciousness when they were back on Earth, "Take it that shaking is not meant to be happening then?"

"Nope."

"Gonna do something about it?" Able stated, more than asked.

The grin he got back was incredibly telling, "Come on then, The Able, Rose Tyler, time to solve the mystery of the Gravity Pocket that isn't. After all, I know gravity pockets, they certainly don't feel like that."

They all started to leave the room, Able still fighting a tight muzzle on his emotional state, not wanting to blow up, doubly as much now that he'd be a hypocrite for it.

...

...

...

They had walked all the way back to the main hallway, The Doctor pulling out his sonic screwdriver and running it up and down against a panel as he spoke, "Yes, definitely not a gravity pocket, but what is it do you reckon? What do you think Jabe? Listen to those engines, they've pitched up about thirty hertz, that dodgy or what?"

"Most commercial microwaves operate at 2450 MHz." Able commented, his tone rather flat, "You think a fluctuation of 30 hertz, comparable to a large ship like this, really makes that much of a difference?"

The Doctor blinked in shock down at Able, who was about a head shorter than him, slightly confused as to the tone. Able had been completely nice, fair, and open-minded thus far, but what he'd just said was borderline rude for the first time. Somewhat embarrassing to even inwardly admit, but The Doctor had no idea what he could have done to entice such an attitude from the male who was, just ten minutes ago, walking around like an awe-filled, hyper-active child.

"Personally, I can't understand the language of machines." Jabe commented, looking a little put out herself at the way Able was acting, considering how friendly he'd been before.

"Best go check out the engine room..." The Doctor mumbled to himself.

"Although I know nothing about machines, I know that the maintenance duct is just behind our guest suite. I could show you and your wife." Jabe commented, looking specifically at Rose.

"No, she's not my wife." The Doctor calmly denied, unknowing of the eruption that would soon be Mount Rosemore.

"Partner?"

"Nope."

"Concubine."

"Certainly not."

"A prostitute, perhaps?" Jabe asked, inwardly getting amusement out of watching Rose get more angry with each suggestion.

"Whatever I am, it must be invisible. Do you mind?" Rose sneered, letting her sassy side loose, "Tell you what, you two go and pollinate. I'm going to go have a quick word with Michael Jackson over there."

"I'm interested in the pollination, can I join?" Able asked, because surely working out his frustration via _pollination_ would be incredibly effective.

"You're coming with me!" Rose said, grabbing Able's arm, "I need the emotional support of my best friend when I go meet the 'Last Human' otherwise..."

"Don't go starting a fight." The Doctor said to Rose, turning toward Able and in a soft voice said, "Watch out for that 'Lover' of yours, The Able, she's a mite bit of trouble, that one."

Able managed a feeble, quickly fading smile. Especially when Rose looked offended by the idea of getting into a fight. The Doctor and Jabe made their way to the engine room, Rose calling after them, "I want you home by midnight!"

...

...

...

"The sun will blossom into a red giant, and my home will die. That's where I used to live when I was a little boy, down there. Mommy and pappy had a little house build into the side of the Los Angeles ridge." Cassandra said as Rose and Able stood next to her, and her roller.

"Like I've said many times at this point, the Earth is already technically dead at this point." Able said under his breath, making sure it was loud enough for Cassandra to hear though. If nothing else, it would be nice to take out his frustrations on someone that he wouldn't regret doing it too later.

"What happened to everyone else, the human race, where did it go?" Rose asked.

"They say mankind has touched every star in the sky."

"So you're not the last human." Rose stated, looking confused.

"I am the last pure human." Cassandra clarified, a note of pride in her voice, "The others... Mingled. They call themselves new-humans, pro-humans, digi-humans, and even humanish! You know what I call them? Mongrels."

"You know what I call you? _Moronic._ " Able spat, finally losing it completely and just letting the anger out, "What you're talking about is progress. It's the evolution of human kind! You either change or you die out, and humans changed. You, the last pure human, are dying out. That's progress for you, leaving those lesser beings behind. Anyone that can't understand simple science such as this, in the year 5.5/apple/26, is even less than anything you claim is a mongrel."

With one last dirty look, Able walked away from Cassandra, but not before purposely hitting her wheels and making her spin around like crazy.

The last thing he heard from the now two people he'd left was Rose saying, "How many surgeries have you had?"

Well, now that the anger was a good deal out of his system, although nowhere near completely, Able could find it in himself to at least try and enjoy the experience once again. Instead, Able ventured closer to the Face of Boa, who seemed like a rather interesting sort.

" _Hello, The Able, I am the Face of Boa."_ Able heard in his head, his eyes widened and he turned around to face the presence he felt just sort of sitting on the very edge of his mind. It seemed as though he was going to have to get used to the little intrusions in the place that used to be only his own and The Rifts.

"Hello, Face of Boa, nice to meet you. Hey, this might seem a little weird, but could I ask about your biology." Able just outright inquired, slightly rude, but then he still wasn't in the best of moods.

_"Certainly, did you know that Boakind can become pregnant? I certainly didn't! What a surprise that was, you see, I was the first of my kind. Not anymore, but when I had sex with a member of a telepathic race called the – "_

The Face of Boa went on, being a rather interesting conversationalist, and talking about the intricacies of the pregnancy that they had been through. It appeared that The Face of Boa was actually a male, at least gender wise, despite his ability to get pregnant. Perhaps Able should have expected than particular eventuality, considering it was five billion years in the future.

That point just kept being driven home.

The conversation had become so intriguing, that Able hadn't even noticed Rose leave. He also didn't notice Toxic playing off of the 'iPad' which was perhaps a blessing.

Jabe came back without The Doctor a few moments later however, carrying with her a familiar looking spider device. She was scanning it, before announcing, "The metal device confirms, the devices have infiltrated the whole of Platform One."

Several gasps of shock where heard, and Able turned toward the Face of Boa, "Think we should get out of here, Jack?"

He only just been told that Face of Boa was a political name before this whole ruckus started, and Able was more than willing to do anything to help his new friend get himself to safety. This however, didn't seem to be much of an option as another pause, The Doctor also burst into the room.

Able pretended whatever Cassandra said never happened.

The Doctor took the little spider, just as the Moxx spoke, "Summon the Steward."

"I'm afraid the Steward is dead." Jabe spoke, looking genuinely regretful.

The Moxx of Balhoon spoke up again, "Who killed him?"

This time, there was no ignoring what Cassandra said, "The whole event was sponsored by the Face of Boa! He invited us! Talk to the face. Talk to the face!"

Able practically stalked forward to the piece of skin, "You piece of paper! It was probably you, look at the one that is throwing accusations and defenses around like it's fucking candy. Never mind all the insults – You admitted to me that everyone here is a _mongrel_ to you because they weren't purely human."

The Doctor spoke up, making Able turn his back to Cassandra and look toward him, "Easy way of finding out." He dropped the spider onto the floor, turning it on, "Someone brought these little pets on board, let's send him back to his master."

The little robot scuttled toward the Adherents of the Repeated Meme, which, Able sort of regretted not figuring out for himself. Blinded by anger, he forgot having seen one of the little bots coming out of the Adherents peace gift.

"Well that's all sort of obvious." The Doctor thought aloud, "But when you stop to think about it..."

One of the Meme's attached The Doctor, and he rather brutally ripped it's arm off and took something out, a power core perhaps, and all of them fell to the floor. This, much to Able's delight, brought the most suspect person in the room back around to being Cassandra, considering the little robot looked around ready to go to her before settling on the Meme's.

Sure enough, The Doctor kicked the little bot back into action and it stopped right in front of Cassandra. Also, right next to Able, and before Able could do anything about that Cassandra spoke, "I bet you were the school swat and never got kissed."

"Take the hostage, and at arms boys!" She declaimed, and Able was grabbed by one of the hazmat suit men, something pushed against his neck. He gulped deeply, before going shock still.

The Doctor did not look like a happy camper at the moment, "What are you going to do, moisturize us?"

"With acid."

Able tensed more, but fought his body to stay completely still and as pliant as possible. Acid right against one of the most important vein's in his body, never mind just how important, you know, his _neck_ was, well nothing was pleasant about it.

The Doctor had rage swimming in his eyes, and The Face of Boa was actually quite similar.

"Let him go..." The Face of Boa rumbled, much to the shock of everyone in the room.

Cassandra just smirked, "So you do speak, not that it will do any good. I hadn't planned on taking a hostage, but look at how well it's working out. After all, this one did pay me such an insult early, said I was obsolete, said that those proto-human _mongrels_ were better than me. Ha! Look at him now!"

"So what, you take a hostage and stay inside of a ship that you sabotaged, starting to see like The Able was correct about just how much lesser you are then the other species of human." The Doctor jibbed, his eyes not leaving Able's.

"Originally I'd hoped to manufacture a hostage situation with myself as a victim, but the backup plan will have to work. After all, flatness costs a fortune, and even though I am the last human, I still need to make a living."

"Arrest her!" Moxx shouted, looking rather panicked at the moment. The happy memory of the Moxx spitting on the ginger seemed rather distant now.

"Right, like I said, I still have my final option. So, here it is, you're all just as useful dead. I've placed shares in your rival companies and they'll triple when you die. Since my spiders are ready to destroy all the life support systems, well, time for you to _burn, baby, burn_.

"You'll simply burn with us." Jabe glared at her.

"I'm so sorry, I know that teleportation is strictly forbidden, but I'm such a naughty thing. Look on the bright side Doctor, I'm taking this little imbecile with me, at least he'll die a better death than you. Spiders, activate!" The whole ship rumbled beneath their feet, "At least it'll be quick for you, just like my fifth husband. Any who~ Shame on me, bye-bye my darlings."

The area around Able seemed to shimmer as he was teleported, "ABLE!" The ginger heard The Doctor shout, before he was gone from Platform One.

...

...

...

Teleportation was actually something that look longer than one would expect. It took a good minute, at least, it seemed that way. Able quickly figured out that when they reappeared, he'd have his best shot at getting out of this alive. He'd have to take out of the hazmat guys and grab their acid, or something along those lines. Perhaps even hiding behind Cassandra was a good way of doing it, the plan would depend on his orientation when they got there but –

No more time for thought, they appeared, and Able shook himself lose of the grip the hazmat had on him, quickly grabbing the man by the face and slamming it into the wall, grabbing the acid can from his slackened fingers.

Able quickly took a look around, and noticed he was about to get sprayed by the other hazmat, instead Able pointed his own sprayer at the conscious hazmat and sprayed it before he got the chance to do the same.

Somewhere inside of him, Able sort of expected it all to be a bluff, that what was in the canisters was just water, but it wasn't. The second the spray hit the hazmat, he started to disintegrate, leaving half covered flash and bone, the _scream_ that erupted form the hazmat...

It was something that Able knew he'd remember for the rest of his life.

Also something he knew not to concentrate on right now.

He turned toward Cassandra, who watched it all in shock, and pointed the dispenser toward her.

"W-wait a minute now darling, I didn't mean anything by it." Cassandra begged, her voice clearly filled with panic as she looked around.

Able just gave a hollow sort of chuckle, "This started out as a good day for me Cassandra. I got to meet other races, I was filled with a childlike joy I'd never felt before, and now look at what you've done. You just said you killed my only friend, my only attachment to this world. Let's be clear, if Rose Tyler hasn't survived this ordeal, I'm going to kill you. Wow, that's something I never thought I'd hear myself say."

Then again, was it really so surprising? Rose Tyler was his only friend, other than the Rift, which was more of a parent – one that Able was no longer connected to, nor could be connected to again in this time, because the Earth just blew up.

He had nothing.

When humans had nothing, they got desperate. Especially when their own lives where on the line.

Cassandra just stayed quiet, seeming to understand that her best move was to simply not anger me farther.

One moment later, he could feel the now familiar feeling of teleportation take him. The second that he rematerialized, he hit the deck and quickly looked around to make sure he wasn't in some sort of trap. To his relief, he was back aboard Platform One. His tense demeanor didn't abate though, instead he frantically searched the faces before him, noting The Doctor, The Face of Boa, and -

"Rosie!"

Able scrambled up, leaving the acid sprayer, and engulfed his traumatized friend into a hug. _Which one of them was more traumatized right now_ , Able wondered, _maybe when we get back to Earth we can visit a little psychologist and have a bit of a competition..._

Anything around him didn't really matter, all that mattered was Rose, in his arms, alive and okay, and suddenly guilt. A crushing sort of guilt and brokenness filled him, and it felt to Able as though he'd never be whole again.

All it took was five minutes of pressure, and he killed a few people and completely shattered.

Rose was crying in his arms, her body shaking in tandem with the sobbing noises. Able wanted to know what happened with her, but knew better than to ask. Instead, he ran his hand through her messed hair, not trying to shush her, but just comfort her through the emotions. He couldn't break down himself until after he was sure Rose was okay – Maybe then he'd shed a tear or two for the first time himself.

"Anyway, you can go ahead and take me to court, Doctor, and you and your little brats can simply watch me smile my way out of doing much more than giving them a few credits."

"You're creaking." The Doctor said, his tone dark and menacing.

Able suddenly turned his head slightly to the side, if only to see what The Doctor was talking about, his curiousity wouldn't allow for less.

"Creak. You're creaking."

Rose's sobs ended and she pulled away slightly to look at Cassandra

"Ah! I'm drying out! Oh, sweet heavens. Moisturize me, moisturize me! Where are my surgeons? My lovely boys, it's getting too hot!" Cassandra screamed as her body turn brown, perhaps a bit of karma, for making them miss Earth Death.

"You were the one that raised the temperature." The Doctor commented, his eyes still dark as he glared at the dying skin, "Maybe if you hadn't taken my companion I might have had a small sliver of mercy left, but I'm not really feeling it. Besides, everything has a time, everything dies."

"Help her." Rose spoke, looking horrified.

_"No, no no no no no, The Doctor wouldn't, couldn't help her, could he? Look at what she did, what she did was horrible, unforgivable, she made me..._ " Able muttered internally, forcing himself to keep his mouth closed as to not burst into hysterics aloud.

_"He would not do such a thing, The Doctor, he cares far too much for his companions to allow such a thing to go by forgiven."_ Able heard Jack say as their minds made contact once again.

Instead of speaking aloud, Able just spoke in his mind to Jack, _"What I did... I had to right?"_

_"I know that you wouldn't have, if you had another choice."_ Jack spoke, his confidence not falling short at all.

Able pushed a feeling toward Jack, all the gratefulness that he could muster, because the ginger was sure he couldn't bring himself to actually show it on his face at the moment.

"Everything has a time and everything dies." The Doctor spoke to Rose, no guilt even touching those steely eyes.

The blue midgets from before started to pile in, clearing things up, making sure that Jack's tank was cleaned off. They then started to escort a number of the living guests off and toward their ship. The comforting feeling of Jack's mind was gone about an hour later, and the broken fractures of Able's mind started to show themselves a bit once again. Able made sure to stay close to Rose, not wanting it to get worse.

She stared out at the now destroyed Earth with sort of empty eyes.

"The end of the Earth, it's gone, and we were too busy saving ourselves so no one saw it go." Rose said, her voice shaking.

The Doctor was standing next to them as Rose spoke those words, looking out into the distance himself.

"All those years, all that history, and no one was even looking... It's just..."

The Doctor offered both his companions a hand, "Come with me."

Able took it without a thought, and he felt something in his mind, a sort sort of presence, maybe questioning, comforting, and just sort of _there_. Nothing the ginger had felt before, but he'd venture a guess to say it was The Doctor. The blue-eyed male brushed against the presence, ignoring the sense of surprise he got, and just basked in it as though he was a cat.

They got into the TARDIS, but all Able payed attention to was the feeling of comfort, until The Doctor's hand left his, and the feeling faded.

A few seconds later, they were home.

Able rushed out, his mind frantically searching around until – Yes – There they were. His mind connected to The Rift with an almost relieved sob, the unrestrained, beautiful comfort and feeling of belonging flooded Able, and the bustling streets, the baby crying, the life... It was perfect, it was home, it was safe... Everything that happened was in the future, it hadn't happened yet.

His overwhelming feelings were broken by The Doctor, "You'll think it'll last forever, people, cares, concrete, and it won't. One day it'll be gone, just like my planet. It'd dead, burn like the Earth, jut rocks and dust far before it's time. There was a war... A time war, and we lost. I'm the last of my species, the last of the Time Lords – Traveling with human companions because there is no one left."

He turned to face both of his still traumatized companions, "So, you know how dangerous it is... Do you want to go home?"

"You think one had experience in a universe full of infinite possibilities would make me stop? I'm much smarter than that." Able tried to joke, but it seemed to be a bit soon.

The Doctor smiled as if it was the best thing he ever heard.

"Can you smell chips?" Rose suddenly asked

"Now that I think about it, yeah."

"I want chips."

"Me too." The Doctor agreed, and Able sort of nodded along.

"You're paying, Time Lord." Rose declared as they started to walk toward the shop. The Doctor just shrugged.

"I haven't got any money."

"You can go back in time and win the lottery." Able reasoned, slightly confused as to how a time traveler of all beings had no money, "Whatever, seems I'm the only person with a job here, so chips are on me. A nice relaxing meal is nice after all the adrenaline."

_And the smell of people burning, the sight of a half decimated body, and the feeling of guilt, horrible crushing guilt at what he'd done._

His lover and his Doctor both just nodded along, and Able knew he'd heal. Just like with all things, it would take time, but he was a time-traveler now, so he had plenty of it. The Rift seemed to be in agreement, of her happy hum was anything to go by.

**R &R**

**So, realistically speaking, I feel like I would have reacted pretty much the same in Able's situation. How about you guys? He's a bit traumatized now, honestly both Rose and Able will be staying that way for more than the last 5 minutes of the episode - I MEAN REALLY! She almost died, by the sun engulfing the Earth, that has to leave a mark. The show fell short there, I'll try not to.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:**  I don't own anything that I've written. Yep, that's right, I own not even one iota of the below work.

 **Summary:**  Able is an actual doctor, and so, so much more. We all know 'The Doctor' does have a pendent for running into impossible things - and if Able was anything, he was an impossible thing. (A twist on the usual OC and The Doctor formula has original ideas and later on, canon divergence. M/M)

 **Warnings:**  This is a Doctor Who fic, so I doubt any of the readers will turn down reading this just because it's slash. After all, we have the canon Jack Harkness. (Who deserves a warning all on his own.) Canon typical violence, language, and later on there will probably be more explicit sexual content.

 **Authour Note:**  So lots of plot this chapter – So I won't say anything here. Let me know what you think though, I'm a fan of my idea with Able, considering the pairing we needed some way of making it work. I thought about holding out, maybe that Able's personal plot was moving too quickly. I decided though, that this works out better. I have new ideas on extending his personal plot and I rather like how this came out.

One of my reviewers allowed me to use them as a sounding board - I have come to the realization that if I were to do a threesome, and I still might not, The Master and River Song had the most compelling possible story-lines for it. Give me your thoughts so we can talk it over if you want a say. I won't decide until deep into the Tenth Doctor, so not much to worry over yet.

Poor Able is having difficulty displaying his child-like curiosity considering how hurt he got last chapter. That why when he does show it this chapter - It's all the more (Potentially) heart-wrenching. I'm really feeling for my poor OC right now, he's going through a lot. Also, you can tell by the pairing right now that I've made a choice in regards toward at least the beginning of this story. I'll change the relationship stuff as I go, but for now this is accurate. Able is technically their "Wing-Man" and any playful flirting is just friendly. When that will change, I'm not sure. This relationship will be incredibly slow burn.

**Chapter Four:** **The Unquiet Dead**

...

_"You're paying, Time Lord." Rose declared as they started to walk toward the shop. The Doctor just shrugged._

_"I haven't got any money."_

_"You can go back in time and win the lottery." Able reasoned, slightly confused as to how a time traveler of all beings had no money, "Whatever, seems I'm the only person with a job here, so chips are on me. A nice relaxing meal is nice after all the adrenaline."_

_And the smell of people burning, the sight of a half decimated body, and the feeling of guilt, horrible crushing guilt at what he'd done._

_His lover and his Doctor both just nodded along, and Able knew he'd heal. Just like with all things, it would take time, but he was a time-traveler now, so he had plenty of it. The Rift seemed to be in agreement, of her happy hum was anything to go by._

...

"Hold that one down!" The Doctor explained as he and Able frantically worked on keeping the TARDIS steady as possible.

Able, despite already holding one button down on a completely different side of the console, didn't bother to argue. Even knowing that his arms weren't long enough to reach it, not a word of that escaped his mouth. If anything, he found the challenge presented amusing, and felt a almost childish want to complete the task as though it would make The Doctor proud. (If this was the effect of not having actual parents... Able wouldn't be surprised if he ended up with a little kink in that avenue.)

Able balanced himself on one foot and used the other to press the button The Doctor had been motioning towards, "You know, this wasn't how I pictured my  _flexibility_  being used during a trip through space and time."

Rose just came out of the corridor and walked in on the sight of The Doctor rushing around the console with Able practically doing a full split across it in order to press more than one button at once.

"Doctor, if you need Able to do that, then how have you ever flown this thing yourself?" Rose suddenly asked, holding herself steady against the wall.

_Oh_

_My_

_Universe._

Able turned a little playful glare toward The Doctor, but the ginger could appreciate the humour, especially when the man seemed to own up with that little sly grin, "...The Doctor, you think you're funny don't you? Well, I see how it is. Clearly you just wanted to see me doing splits on your console, is this like the Time Lord version of a motorcycle kink?"

The Doctor just gave a little shrug, "Don't think about releasing those buttons, now that you are holding them, not doing so will make this little ride the opposite of fun. Now, I was thinking since we've seen the future, a little trip to the past wouldn't be remiss – How's 1860 sound?"

"Sounds good!" Able accepted, and would have shown his interest by bouncing on his toes, but in his current situation it would probably look more sexual that it was intended, so he resisted the urge.

Rose, ever the questioning, "What's going on in 1860?"

"I have no idea, that's what half the fun is, finding out!" The Doctor said with a wide grin, and pulled a lever, and the TARDIS jerked into the 1800's. Able don't think he'd ever tensed his thigh muscles quite so tightly, and for him, that was certainly quite the accomplishment, because the amount of effort he put into making sure he remained balanced and pressing the button was – nearly – inhuman.

This time when the ship jerked to a stop, Able was the only one that remained standing.

"Can I let go of these now?" He spoke, his voice slightly strained.

The Doctor got up, having the good grace to look a bit sheepish, "You never really had to hold them there, but impressive work."

 _Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me,_  Able thought to himself, unable to be mad as he took his foot off of the console and allowed himself to relax his muscles.

"So then, The Doctor, where are we now?" Able asked, walking over to Rose and offering her a hand up.

The Doctor seemed extremely proud of himself for once, "I did it! Give the man a metal, Earth, Naples, December 24th, 1860."

"Somehow, the fact you are so happy about that doesn't inspire any sort of confidence in you, does it?" Able teased The Doctor, ignoring the shaking pointed finger he got for the comment.

The Doctor gave a scoff, but didn't seem offended by the question. Instead, he turned to look at Rose most specifically, "Alright, so before we go out there are a few things I need to take care of. You especially need to get ready for this trip, if you step outside in clothing like that there will be a riot." As the last part was spoken, The Doctor looked his female companion over.

"Through there you can find the wardrobe, the TARDIS will help you." He paused for a second, before turning toward the ginger, "Could I talk to you alone for a second, The Able?"

The Doctor walked off before Able had the chance to answer. Rose raised an eyebrow, but when Able just return it with a confused look, she shook her head and headed into the wardrobe, allowing the ginger to follow after The Doctor. Thankfully, it didn't take that long to him him, something that Able suspected the TARDIS had a hand in – The Doctor was just sitting there in Able's rather plain room, everything essentially dark grey, other than the wooden desk that had a number of books from The Doctor's library on it that he'd gathered the 'night' before.

"How are you doing?" He asked, rather unceremoniously, his expressions rather nonchalant as he looked over the books that Able had chosen.

Able immediately suspected what this was about. The Doctor had been fully aware of his surroundings during Platform One, and had noted the way that Able had showed back up. In order words, The Doctor had most likely theorized what happened when the blue-eyed male had been teleported away.

"My conversation with The Face of Boa helped a lot." Able admitted, seeing no reason to beat around the bush, "He told me that he believed I wouldn't have done something like that if I had another choice. I'd like to believe that as well."

The man swung around to look at the ginger, his eyes unfathomable, "You'd  _like_  to believe it?"

"When I looked at Cassandra, with that horrible weapon in my hand, pointing it toward her... I said something that scared me a little bit. I was no longer in danger from her anymore, essentially in the free and clear. Instead of just getting away, I told her that if Rose had died, I would, you know..." Able gave the Time Lord a ghost of a smile and ran his finger across his throat.

Just thinking about the situation brought the memories back, memories of the burnt body, half decimated. The thought that his one and only living bond to this world had been destroyed.

The hopelessness.

Instead of anger, or distrust that Able had been perhaps expecting, The Doctor had a look of deep understanding cross his eyes, "I see... Well, The Able, I agree with The Face of Boa, you are the most open-minded humans I've ever met, and I've met a lot of you apes..."

The atmosphere was slightly awkward for a second. Considering the topic of discussion, that probably wasn't surprising.

"You're book choice is interesting." The Doctor suddenly came out with, "Rose mentioned you were a Doctor of Theoretical Physics, but you choose books that have nothing to do with that."

"The Doctor, I knew you wanted to get me alone, to get to know me, you know how to make a girl swoon." Able mimed doing just that, giving the man a sardonic grin. The Doctor seemed in the mood for some mild interrogation though, and Able didn't actually have anything to hide, "I'm already one of the top Theoretical Physicist of my time. I don't need future knowledge for that, over more, if anything it would only make my life harder. I'd have to dumb down what I know to an acceptable level before I passed in my research. Instead I picked up an interesting side project."

"This will have an ape like you confused for years." The Doctor challenged playful, any accusations having left his tone, picking up one of the books to accentuate his point.

Perfect for distracting Able from -  _The sight of a half decimated body, and the feeling of guilt, horrible crushing guilt at what he'd done. The gut retching smell of burning hazmat suit plastic mixed with flesh, but it wasn't a clean burn, it was acid, and it had burned into the organs sending a pungent -_

"I'm quite capable, this is only one asset of my considerable lists of talents. Want me to send you a list?" Able said, giving The Doctor a wink, "Don't worry though, I have no plans on making a sonic screwdriver, how boring would that be?"

The Doctor felt slightly uneasy letting a human build and learn technology that was beyond their time, but it wasn't the first time he'd allowed it. Sarah Jane being one such instance of his better equipped companions. If anything he should feel a bit better, considering The Able was learning it on his own, developing and creating it all on his own, he'd have a much greater appreciation. (That also lead into the fact he could bring that knowledge to his current Earth and use it to gain profit -) The Time Lord felt somewhat tired, emotionally, not physically. The last thing he wanted was to suspect his most open-minded companion of doing something underhanded, but that same open-minded companion had a dangerous amount of curiosity – Not to mention the intelligence to match.

"Alright then! We should get dressed too, wouldn't want to keep Rose waiting." The Doctor abruptly started toward the door when Able called back.

"Have you talked to Rose yet? You know, about the Platform One situation?"

The Doctor turned his expression confused.

Able very nearly rolled his eyes – But The Doctor was probably used to situations like the one that they had just gone through. It wasn't likely he recognized just how traumatizing it could be, "Rosie nearly got killed by her own planets star as her actually planet was blown to little ittle-bitty bits, met tons of different species, found out her mind wasn't as private as she thought, went time traveling to the year five billion, she's probably not doing so well."

The Doctor seemed pretty shocked – How long had the Time Lord been alone? Clearly he didn't have as good a grasp as Able had thought on humans, Then the Doctor asked"How are you doing with ... All that stuff?"

"I already knew that there were different species and types of life. I'm a scientist after all, the likelihood of their not being other life forms is... So tiny that you couldn't logically take it into account. The same with the other things, I always knew that the planet would be destroyed and I've thought it over before in detail, and I've always known that minds could be interfered with." Able explained, "Rose never knew any of this, or thought of it in great detail. She's never had to. I think what she's suffering would be akin to 'culture shock' as you mentioned before."

The Doctor looked thoughtful, "I think I know just what to do." Suddenly deep gratitude crossed the man's face, "Thank you, The Able, you are extremely good at putting things into perspective for me."

The Doctor left after that, and Able watched him go feeling just a bit weird. It was a mixed feeling, as though he passed a test or some sort, or perhaps that he'd done the right thing. In addition to that, the gratitude that had flashed across the Time Lord's face made Able feel strangely warm – Perhaps a mix of happiness and the sense of being undeserving?

These past few days had more emotions stuffed into them then a good majority of Able's life. The ginger shook his head of these thoughts and went into his personal wardrobe the TARDIS had supplied. Inside he found a shirt and vest fitting for the time, and changed into it. However, he kept his watch, glasses, sweat-pants, and converse the same. It was a weird mishmash of formal and informal clothing, but it would allow Able to be more comfortable when at the same time providing some sort of cover for anyone in the past that glanced at him (Although they would certainly as questions if they looked closely enough.)

After getting dressed, the blue-eyed male made his way down to the console room. The Doctor was already there – and was he wearing a different colour shirt? – Oh well, it was always the confidence that sold a disguise. At least, that's what they said in television.

...

...

...

At some point, both The Doctor and Able found themselves on their knees as the Time Lord took out his screwdriver and started to fix some small issues that had occurred with the wiring, running diagnostics, and things like that. During that time, they made some idle conversation. Able inquired as to just what The Doctor was doing each time he started something new, and The Doctor asked a little bit about Able's work – Really about what he specialized in and some of his work on theories. Work which, The Doctor himself admitted eventually was exceptional for the time period.

The easy conversation was interrupted when they both heard foot-steps and looked up.

Rose, and she looked stunning. A purple skirt with black embroidering, a tight black top made of lace and black frills, with a sort of black cape lain across her shoulders attached at her neck. Her hair was up for the occasion.

"Blimey!" The Doctor explained, looking rather shocked.

"Don't laugh." Rose said, giving a little giggle herself.

"You look beautiful." There was a pause, "Considering..."

Able had been enthusiastic about The Doctor's reaction to his best friend. She certainly deserved it, looking as stunning as she did, but the ginger knew, just knew, that something to ruin it was going to be said the second he added the 'considering' into the mix. Of course, the physicist couldn't allow The Doctor to ruin his plans for getting Rose to break up with Mickey, and knew he'd need to interject.

"Considering what...?" Rose asked, who'd looked flattered, but the emotion was starting to fade a little to be replaced with a vague feeling of resigned curiosity.

The Doctor opened his mouth to reply, but Able cut across him and walked up the ramp toward his Rosie, "Considering how worried we were about you and how you were dealing with the Platform One situation. Me and The Doctor were just talking about how I was taking it, and we were worried about you as well."

Rose looked suspicious though, "That true?" She asked The Doctor, narrowing her eyes.

The Doctor took the out and nodded his head a few times in quick succession.

"So, how are you dealing with it, Lover?"

"It's... Hard... Thinking of seeing the sun in the sky again after seeing what I saw kind of hurts a bit. I can't imagine I could ever look at a piece of paper the same way again." Rose tried to joke, but it fell flat, "I guess it will just take time, but I'm fine, honestly I am." She hastened to make her point.

"If you're sure, Rosie." Able spoke in a soft tone, before leaning over an kissing her cheek, "As The Doctor said, you look stunning. Let's go check out 1860, shall we?"

"What about him?" Rose questioned, turning toward The Doctor, "Aren't you going to change?"

"I changed my jumper." He said simply enough.

Able burst into laughter at the disbelief that came onto his best friends face at the response. She stage whispered toward him, "Is this some kind of sexism?"

The ginger knew she was joking, but gave a more serious observation anyway, "No, I think he's abnormally attached to the clothing he wears. Maybe some sort of security blanket."

The female just rolled her eyes, used to getting overly serious answers from her friend, and headed toward the door, followed by the two men, ready to face 1860. The door opened, and their faces were blasted by chilled air and soft snow fall. The town, from what they could see, looked beautiful with its soft dusting – Something that you would normally only see in paintings, but those couldn't match the pure feeling that actually being here gave off. They walked out of the TARDIS and -

Wait, snowing in Naples?

"Naples is a Mediterranean area, nearly a humid subtropical climate, the winter months rarely if ever reach below even 4 degrees Celsius (AN: 40ish degrees Fahrenheit?) and snow is rather uncommon." Able announced, looking around rather confused.

The Doctor seemed to realize this as well, and looked a mixture of thoughtful and, soon enough, embarrassed, as he grabbed a newspaper from a man selling them on the corner and opened it.

"I got the flight wrong." He announced, looking rather resigned.

Suddenly, Able felt a familiar presence fill the back of his mind, touching, sending him images and feelings of comfort, and before he knew what he was doing, he'd announced, "Cardiff, 1869."

The Rift.

The Doctor looked rather stunned, and he looked around with a weird, pensive expression, as though looking for something they couldn't see. Able knew what he was feeling through, he could feel The Rift around Able, but it was too faint to pick up completely, even for the Time Lord, "Actually, yes. December 24th, 1869, England, Cardiff... How boring."

Suddenly, there was screaming and people fleeing the theater nearby, all of their eyes flew toward that direction and -  _The horrible scream that left the melting hazmat users mouth as his body slowly melted off of him, revealing his bones before finally getting to his organs and stopping the ghastly screams, allowing the mercy of death -_

"I take that back." The Doctor spoke, snapping a shaken Able out of his flashback.

They all took off running toward the theater,  _and away from their problems_ , and upon pushing their way through the crowded exit, they was an old woman, soaring above the frantic crowd as they tried to escape. Some sort of apparition was attached to the woman, steam seemed to be pouring from her body in a distinctively unnatural way.

"Fantastic!" The Doctor exclaimed, allowing himself to fall into awe for a moment, then gathered himself.

The smoke, what could it be? Clearly it wasn't actually smoke, some sort of visible psychic energy perhaps? What would that entail exactly, perhaps and overuse of ability that caused the woman's body to overheat and 'leak' the energies off as though it was heat – Able pushed his thoughts back and ventured farther into the room, grabbing Rose's arm lest they end up separated.

He couldn't take a separation from her now, considering what happened last time.

"Hey! Let her alone! Doctor we'll get her!" Suddenly, the grip that Able had been using to attach himself to Rose, was being used to pull him along in the direction of a few people who were carrying off an old woman.

Eventually, the two of them followed the snatchers outside, "It's a travesty miss, don't worry me and the master will deal with it. The woman's been taking with a brain fever we much get her to the infirmary."

Rose didn't believe that for once second, and as she reached to check the woman the snatchers had carried out, Able kept an eye on the elder man who was coming up behind them. The man tried to push a cloth into Able's face, but it was a feeble attempt considering one of them was an old man, and the other was a twenty something that had spent a lot of time  _working out_  as it were.

"Now why are you trying to do that?" Able spoke, his voice low, trying to keep an eye on Rose, who was looking with accusing eyes toward the woman snatcher.

"Please, you must understand, we have to keep this a secret." The elder man begged, his eyes wide and frantic.

So the man clearly had some idea of what was going on, and that ghost that had come out of the woman, perhaps the woman's own spirit? Abe hadn't believed in spirits, but then again, he'd just seen something that was lacking in explanation flying around, connected to the woman's body – Occam's Razor in account - Going with the man quietly was the easiest and least troublesome way of getting what his curiosity was dying to know.

"Rosie, we should go with them. They clearly know what's going on, and I don't think that it was something they did to the woman that caused this." Able spoke, throwing in the last part knowing that otherwise, Rose's morals wouldn't allow her to let it go.

Rose trusted Able, and although she didn't tear her eyes away from the female snatcher, she nodded.

They all situated themselves in the carriage, Rose with the two up front, but there was no room for Able there, so be rode with the corpse in the back. Rose looked about ready to protest, but Able shot her a look. Able couldn't tell where they were going, so he opened his mind, intending to consult The Rift – and there was a weird influx, random images, mostly from the future, of The Rift's way of seeing, experiencing was probably the better word, a young Able. Then – Nothing – The connection cut and there was some weird fluctuations of energy.

Able had a deep sense of foreboding about this trip all of the sudden, and he felt so, so alone.

...

...

...

It took a good half an hour according to Able's watch for them to get back to the place the snatchers wanted to get. The snatchers looked around frantically before pulling the body into the funeral area, a frustrated Rose and a contemplative Able following after them closely – Always staying in ear shot.

"What are we going to do, sir?" The female asked, looking rather hopeless and distressed.

The man seemed similar, "I don't know, girl, it's not my fault the dead keep getting up."

"If it's not your fault, than whose is it?" She asked, although it was clearly rhetorical.

Able gave a sharp whistle to draw their attention back toward their guests, making the two snatchers give a jump. The displeased look on Rose's face was enough to make both of them want to grow a shell and retreat into it like a turtle – Able wasn't quite sure he blamed them. After all, the blonde had a killer glare, it had gotten Able to give in plenty of times.

"Alright! Let's get into what's going on here." Able said, sounding almost cheerful, "Now, I think you said something about dead people getting up and walking around?"

The man cleared his throat, looking rather nervous still, "Yes... The bodies of our unfortunate customers have been coming back and walking themselves. It's unholy I tell you! What can we do though, we just try to keep them contained here... There isn't anything else we  _can_  do."

"Them?" Able asked, "Well, either way, I'm sure The Doctor will be here soon, he's sure to help you out."

"The Doctor, you say? Good heavens no, a Doctor isn't needed for this, I suspect the best way to deal with this situation is to call the minster! I've done him a favour, I'm sure he'll perform an exorcism for me on the cheap." The chubby male stated, looking still rather frantic.

"What's an exorcism going to do? The dead are walking, not demons." Rose asked, glaring at the male before her, finding his cowardly way of dealing with the situation rather pitiable, "If you want this to be solved, it's best to let The Doctor help, he knows a lot about things like this."

Rose wasn't the most diplomatic, that much was clear and Able wouldn't have expected her to be. The blonde was far too opinionated for that.

There was a knock on the door, and the man spoke to his female servant, "Go, tell them we're closed girl."

"Lover, you should go with her. I'm willing to bet it's The Doctor." Able spoke, before pointing toward the bumbling man, "I'm going to stay with this one, make sure he doesn't get himself into much trouble."

The tone Able used was borderline sarcastic, but he followed the man a moment later as he left and the girls went to answer the door.

"Did you call that young woman, 'Lover'? How inappropriate." The elderly man said, a blush gracing his face as he stumbled along.

It hadn't occurred to Able when he'd said that it could be seen as offensive. He'd always just said what he liked for the most part – Then again, he wasn't in the twenty-first century right now. This current era was a repressed one, had they known Able was agreeable to the male sex, they'd probably have a heart attack before stoning him to death. It was nice to see how far humans came as a society in such a short time.  _If you disregarded the outliers, of course._

"It's something she's quite amicable to in bed, and outside of it. You see, to be perfectly blunt, it turns her on." Able spoke, mostly just to tease the old man, who nearly fell over.

"Well, I've never!" Was all the man managed, seeming rather lost for words.

Before their conversation could continue, there was a banging on the door, the sound of wood breaking, both Able and the undertaker turned toward the noise and made to find out what was going on. What they found was rather interesting to say the least, the living dead had quite nearly broken the door completely.

"ROSIE! WE'VE GOT A PROBLEM!" Able exclaimed at the top of his lungs.

Able and the undertaker were holding the door closed, when The Doctor, a stranger, Rose, and the servant girl all came running.

"Hi!" The Doctor said, upon looking at Able with an excited smile.

"The Doctor." Able returned, giving him his own childish grin, he couldn't help it, because dead people walking and ghosts –  _GHOSTS!_  In that moment, just for a few seconds, the heavy feeling in Able's chest that was hiding beneath everything else faded, and he was looking at the world with the same excited eyes he'd started off with during Platform One.

"Who's this, by the way?" He added as an afterthought, just as The Doctor simply opened the door, revealing the two dead on the other side.

"Charles Dickens."

Able's eyes widened in pure delight, "Really?! Wow, I read your works well in schooling, they were marvelous, in fact, I did a report on Oliver Twist – Got an 96 percent, quite the piece of work you've made."

"Oh my god, a nerdgasm, now of all times?!" Rose spoke, her voice an exaggerated deadpan, considering the way she was looking at the walking dead, more of an act than anything else.

Dickens was far more interested in the dead that were standing up in front of him though, "We must be under some mesmeric influence..." He spoke in a breathy tone.

"Nope, I do believe the dead are walking." The Doctor stated simply, "I'm The Doctor, this is The Able, over there is Rose Tyler and Charles Dickens, don't know the names of the other two, who are you then?"

" **Failing.** " The two corpses spoke in tandem, " **Open the Rift. We're dying. Trapped in this form. Cannot sustain. Help us**."

With that, the bodies turned their head upwards, and mimed the same thing the woman in the theater was doing, with a haunting scream -  _The horrible scream that left the melting hazmat users mouth as his skin slowly melted off of him, revealing his bones before finally getting to his organs and stopping the ghastly screams, allowing the mercy of death -_ The spirits had returned to gas, and the bodies which had been taken over slumped to the ground with a plop, slackened and lacking any sort of life.

The flashback and struck deep inside of Able, and although he was still in awe at what was happening, he found himself much less enthused than before.

It was a horrible feeling being traumatized – extenuated by The Rift ignoring him – and Able didn't want to feel something like that again. Even knowing that it wasn't as simple as just turning it off.

"You okay, Able? You're looking a bit pale." Rose mentioned suddenly, causing all the heads in the room to turn toward the redhead.

"Just fine, Lover."

The horrified gasps helped Able leave behind the horrible feelings, and focus on the present.

...

...

...

"I don't want that young lady in my home for longer than needed." Mr. Sneed spoke, pointing toward Rose with a shaking hand.

Rose looked startled and confused, "What do you mean?"

"This young man admitted to me that you... You're some form of sexual deviant!" He exclaimed, looking rather flushed at having to even say those words.

Rose looked utterly stunned, turned toward the snickering Able, then toward the amused Doctor, and back toward Mr. Sneed, "What on Earth... I'm not a sexual deviant! If anyone is, it's him! A few years ago he had a new partner every few days, and let me tell you, he certainly wasn't every picky."

"You'll make me cry, Lover. The shame is too much, why must you exclaim my private life to the world." Able said, looking abashed.

"Well of course, well, a man has needs!" Mr. Sneed said, looking rather flustered, "It's a totally different situation, although I must admit it's still quite sinful –"

"Urgh! I'm not liking the past all that much." Rose hissed out, looking rather offended and glaring at the old man.

Able cleared his throat to draw attention back toward him, "Perhaps we should focus on more important things, like the dead being controlled by a gaseous species."

"I know what it looks like, but I swear it's not my fault! It's this house."

Mr. Sneed looked downright tired as he said it. If not for the man being such a horrible sexist prude, Able would have found it in himself to feel a bit bad for him. As it were, open-minded as Able was, he could understand, just not sympathize with such backwards views. Therefore there was no empathy for poor Mr. Sneed, even as he was clearly not much more than a distressed old man.

"It's always had a reputation, haunted, but I never had much trouble until about three months ago." Mr. Sneed was speaking directly to Dickens now, likely the prude in him, "Then the stiffs, I mean, the dearly departed, started getting restless."

"Lies." Dickens stated quite clearly, calmly taking a sip of his tea.

"You've seen it! Can't keep the buggers down, sir, they walk, and they do so to where they want! Just like the old lady, she went to your show, just as she'd planned on doing before she died." Sneed explained.

"Morbid fancy."

"I never much liked people who couldn't admit the truths that were right in front of them. For such a brilliant man, you're lacking brains in some areas that it really counts." Able said, almost off-handedly.

The man looked offended, but The Doctor, who was leaning comfortably against the wall finally spoke up, "What about the gas?"

"That's new, sir, never seen anything like it."

"That means it's getting stronger, The Rift is getting wider, and something is sneaking through." The Doctor theorized, making Able's eyes widen to the size or plates.

It explained a lot – why The Rift was acting weird especially. Normally, when The Rift got wider, it would dispense that energy into Able in order to keep itself stable, and for some reason, it wasn't doing that. Able attempted to connect to The Rift, but was quickly rebuked, and it was like being slapped straight across the face. It was the shock mostly, not the pain, that sent Able to holding his head.

The Doctor noticed it, this time there was no hiding it, "You're connected to it?"

"Yes." Able hissed out, still rather shocked.

"Fascinating... Do you know anything about what's happening?" The Doctor said, taking our his sonic and scanning Able from top to bottom.

"Excuse me, but what do you mean connected to it?" Rose asked, looking confused and worried.

"The Rift, Rosie, I've been connected with it all my life. Psychically, at the very least, and The Rift is essentially my parent, guardian, and perhaps even god, all in one package. They practically raised me, taught me, showed me things that are beyond humans of our time... I knew of aliens, time travel, technology, although usually these things are just imprints..." Able explained, finally letting his hand drop from his head and stood straight, looking at his blonde friend and ignoring the scanning Doctor.

"You never told me?" Rose asked, sounding hurt.

Able winced, he always hoped to avoid this confrontation, "Please try to understand, Lover. It would have sounded insane to you, had I come out and said the things I knew. You would have needed proof, proof that I had no way or providing."

Rose looked away from Able, and didn't say anything.

"Well, now that the domestic is over, we can move on." The Doctor stopped scanning Able and placed his hands in his pockets, "For those of us that aren't The Able, and don't have vast understanding of what a Space Time Rift is, it's a weak point, a place where there is a connection between one place and another, sometimes multiple others. That's what causes ghost stories most of the time. Usually these things aren't sentient, in fact, this is the first time I've heard of one being so... It's incredibly fascinating, but I suppose we ought to deal with the problem at hand first."

As he said those words, he sounded almost regretful – Able didn't blame him, as the physicist was rather curious himself.

"That explains how I got the place so cheap, and mind you, the stories are good for business. Just the sort of thing that people expect from a trade like mine." Sneed admitted, not looking in the least bit ashamed.

The Doctor laughed, watching Rose's shocked expression at what the man was saying – Able couldn't resist the small amusement he got either. Rose was just so expressive, even when rather angry for one reason or another.

...

...

...

Rose left with the servant girl – Gwyneth, as Able discovered. The Doctor had followed after Dickens, who was, perhaps understandably, having issues with the whole ghost problem. That left Sneed and Able to themselves, and Sneed didn't look to comfortable with it.

"You poor, poor repressed man. If I had less respect for myself, perhaps was less prideful when it came to my partners appearance, I might have helped you out." Able spoke, trying not to laugh as the man turned red as a tomato.

"Why, I never... Do you get some sick amusement out of saying such sinful things?" Sneed asked, looking so incredibly flustered.

Able gave it a moment of thought, "Perhaps, I think it's more of the fact recently I've been rather unhappy and had something traumatic happen to me, and I'm using your hilarious reactions to lighten my soul."

Sneed actually seemed almost sympathetic.

...

...

...

Perhaps a hour later, everyone was gathered around the table for a séance, The Doctor giving a rather quick explanation as to why, "Here we've got two rather powerful connections to The Rift, this might be our only chance to connect with the ones that are doing this – To see what it is that they want."

"This is ow Madam Mortlock summons those from the Land of Mists down in Brutetown." Gwyneth spoke, gesturing the others closer, "We must all join hands for this to work."

Most of them grabbed each other's hands.

Able, who was sitting next to Sneed, sent the man a cheeky little wink. Sneed was rather reluctant to take Able's hand after, but recognized the importance of the séance and sucked it up.

"I can't take part in this." Dickens commented, standing up.

 _I suppose this is why you should never meet your heroes_ , Able thought, looking rather disappointed in Charles Dickens. Then again, being as open-minded as Able was, it was hard for him to understand why people couldn't just be the same, so maybe his dislike of Charles had more to do with Able's own problems than Dickens.

"Humbug?" The Doctor mocked, looking up at Dickens, "Come on then, keep an open mind."

"This is precisely the sort of thing I strive to unmask as fancy! Séances, nothing but luminous smoke and mirrors. This girl knows nothing!"

"Oi!" Rose immediately defended.

"No need to antagonize them, come on Charles, I love a happy medium." The Doctor said after a brief snicker.

"What a dad joke, how'd you know that was one of my new –" Before Able could finish his comment, Rose gave him a narrowed look, and after being friends for so long, the ginger easy recognized it as a sign to shut up.

Eventually they got Charles to sit down, holding hands with the others, "Now, Gwyneth, Able, reach out to The Rift."

After getting the smack down last time, Able was less wanton to do so. However thus far The Doctor hadn't lead them wrong, so the ginger hesitantly reached out psychically to The Rift – He was immediately enclosed in warmth, caring, remorse, feelings that were beyond Able's comprehension, but Able could recognize one final emotion – Fear.

The Rift spread itself across Able's mind, and something started to happen, whispers erupted, but instead of being a part of it, Able could feel himself being protected from whatever outside force there was at play through The Rift.

Gwyneth on the other hand, had an small, blue light illuminating from her, the ghost like apparitions that had been seen escaping the dead bodies earlier were swirling around, mostly around both Gwyneth and Able, although they seemed almost agitated in their flight pattern when it came to the redhead. It wasn't too much later that The Doctor had talked Gwyneth into connecting with the spirits so that they could be heard.

" **Pity us. Pity the Gelth. There is so little time. Help us.** " The apparitions spoke as one, but frankly there was a stronger voice, young, feminine, and so, so sad.

The Doctor looked almost gentle as he spoke next, "What do you want us to do?"

" **The Rift. Take the girl to The Rift. Make the bridge.** " They sounded panicked, giving a sense of urgency. Yet, Able felt more suspicious than anything.

"What for?" The Doctor asked, rather reasonably.

" **We**   **are so, so very few. We are the last of our kind. We face extinction.** " They spoke, and The Doctor looked  _too_  sympathetic to them, Able noticed.

"What happened?"

" **The Time War. The whole universe convulsed. Destroyed us. Destroyed our home planet. We once had physical form. The War took it away. Time War wagged, and small species didn't matter. We were devastated. Our bodies destroyed. We ascended – Trapped in gaseous states.** "

"So that's what you need the corpses for." The Doctor stated, not asked, but looking for confirmation.

" **We want to feel the sun. We want to live. We seek physical form once more. Your dead are abandoned. Your dead are buried – Wasted. We wish to use them.** " The Gelth reasoned.

"We can't!" Rose immediately protested.

"Why not?" The Doctor replied, looking completely confused.

Able still felt as though something wasn't completely right – Yet somehow seeing Rose's 'moral' reaction was quite comforting. The ginger could sense the upcoming argument between the two coming a mile away. Perhaps it best to form his own opinion quickly, there wouldn't be time to waste.

"It's not – I mean, we can't just –"

"Not what? Not decent, polite? We should say no even though it could save their lives?" The Doctor interrupted, looking borderline peeved.

" **Open The Rift. Let the Gelth through. We're dying. Help us. Pity the Gelth.** " They spoke out once more, before disappearing and leaving Gwyneth utterly exhausted.

Able could feel The Rift pulling back it's mental protection – There it was again – A flash of foreboding, but The Rift wanted their ginger to follow his morals, his logic, what he thought was best. With that, Able couldn't allow himself to do anything other than that.

Silence reined as they all waited for their medium to wake up. Everyone was thinking it over, wondering what should be done – Clearly it wasn't a simple choice.

When she came through, Gwyneth looked around rather frantically, "My angels, miss. They came, didn't they? Do they need me?"

Able gritted his teeth against his suspicions. Did she call them her angels before? Able couldn't recall it, and if they messed around with her mind when she was summoning them, it would certainly explain why she gained that point of view – As well as why The Rift had shielded the ginger.

"They do need you, Gwyneth. You're their only chance for survival." The Doctor answered truthfully.

"I told you, you had best leave her alone. She's exhausted and she's clearly not in any state to be fighting your battles for you." Rose declared, giving The Doctor her patented narrowed look.

Able clicked his tongue, "She asked a question, The Doctor answered truthfully. He didn't ask for her to do anything, and this isn't his battle either, it's the Gelth's battle."

"Well, what did you say Doctor? Explain it again, what exactly are they?" Sneed inquired.

"Aliens."

"Like, foreigners, you mean?"

Able winced at the word alien, it really just sounded so... Insulting. He really wished people would stop using it around him.

"The road for them is blocked – A good way to put it – Only the few strong can get through, and even then they find themselves incredibly weak. They are only able to use the bodies for a short amount of time before they need to hide themselves in the gas pipes again." The Doctor explained, trying to put it as simply as possible.

"That explains why they need the girl, then." Dickens stated, coming to an understanding.

Rose looked angered once again, "They aren't having her."

"Rose, she can help, she's on The Rift, a part of it. She can open it up, make a bridge, and let them through." The Doctor reasoned.

"Not her, what about Able? He's connected to The Rift" She shot back.

 _Rosie won't let them use someone she let all of five minutes ago, but will let The Doctor use me?_  Able thought to himself humorlessly. He'd known she was angry at him, but to such an extent... That she'd rather Able died than Gwyneth, and it hurt. It hurt because Able was willing to kill for this blonde, who seemed to be willing to kill him for a total stranger.

"Wouldn't work, she's the one with the connection to them." The Doctor shot down, giving a sympathetic look toward the expressionless Able.

When even The Doctor noticed... Able couldn't help but give a little snort, self-deprecating as it was.

"Simply incredible really, ghosts that aren't really ghosts, but beings from another world which can only exist in our world by inhabiting the dead." Charles fleshed out.

"Good system. It might work." The Doctor stated.

Rose got sick of it and stood up, "You can't let them run around inside of dead people."

"Why not? It's simple recycling." The Doctor commented, wondering what was so hard to understand.

"Seriously, though, you can't."

"Seriously, though, I can."

"It's just wrong. Those bodies were living people. We should respect them, even in death." Rose said, "Able, tell him!"

 _Oh_ , The ginger thought staying utterly silent,  _so now you want my opinion. A grand six seconds ago you were willing to sacrifice me. Sorry, Lover, you're on your own. Want to prove your opinion? Try being actually compelling with it for once._

"Do you carry a donor card?"

"That's different, that's –"

"Yeah, a different morality. Either get used to it or go home. You heard what they said, time's short. I can't worry about a few corpses when the last of the Gelth could be dying." The Doctor pointed out, trying to get the hopeless human to understand.

"I don't care, they're not using her." Rose stubbornly defended.

_That's_

"Don't I get a say, miss?" Gwyneth queried.

_Enough._

"The whole not of you sit down and shut up!" Able exclaimed, getting to his feet and glaring at the lot of them.

Immediately, they did so, quite similar to how both Rose and The Doctor had reacted when they had an argument on Platform One.

"None of you are right. You're all thinking with your emotions instead of your heads. I expected better from The Doctor, seems like he hasn't learned his lesson from last time. Now, first point of business." Able turned toward Gwyneth, "I get the feeling you want to say yes, perhaps that you even think your vote actually matters more than the others for once. It doesn't – This choice brings huge potential change for all of humanity."

Able then turned toward Rose, "You! I didn't take you for the genocide of an entire species just because one girl might, I repeat,  _might_  be in danger. You're being an ignoramus, hell, I'd say you were being quite a bit like Cassandra. One human means more than a whole race of peoples? You make me sad right now, Lover."

Finally, Able turned toward The Doctor, "Now as for you, maybe you are the one in this mess that is the most correct, but you still aren't thinking with your head! You have no specifics, your plan is to simply let it happen. Sure, a few corpses is no big deal – How many is a few? What do you do with them once they have those bodies. You can't leave them here to traumatize the humans who's loved ones body is now inhabited. You need to take them somewhere else. Not only that, but you didn't bother to even ask the other people's opinions – Seems that only yours matters. Bit of an ego there, haven't you?"

Silence reined, and all three of the chastised parties looked at least a little bit ashamed of themselves. Able was still fuming – Typical for him, he never could bring his anger back in easily.

So, Able stormed off into the next room, reaching out to The Rift – Immediately waves of comfort engulfed him. A bit of the tension was relieved, and Able sat on the floor, looking up toward the ceiling as he allowed The Rift to comfort him.

Fifteen minutes later, The Doctor walked over, "Gwyneth is going to do it – I have a course of action now. We help them gather as many bodies as they need, and once they posses them, we put them in the TARDIS. After we have gotten them all, I'll bus them to a time when humans are accepting and have them work out some sort of treaty."

The Doctor suddenly crouched down next to Able, placing a hand on his forehead. The ginger could feel the man's mind touch his own, just lightly, enough to express emotions of gratitude, the feeling of being impressed, remorse, and several others.

The anger was soothed under the combined efforts of The Doctor and The Rift.

"You're lucky you're so handsome, The Doctor." Able pseudo-flirted, standing up and brushing himself off.

The Time Lord gave Able a cheeky wink, "Nothing compared to you, The Able."

The Doctor stood up and strode out, giving Able too good a view to pass up. Honestly, if Able wasn't the best wing-man in the world... Oh the things he would do with that man.

...

...

...

They made their way down stairs into the morgue, the smell of death invading their senses and -  _Hazmat finally got the release of death, the smell, oh the smell of the flesh, the half melted organs_ -

 _Stop_ , Able told his own thoughts firmly,  _it happened, but I had to, that's all there is to it._

Rose, frantically looking for her last leg to stand on turned toward The Doctor, "The thing is, Doctor, we know the Gelth don't succeed. I know for a fact there weren't any corpses walking around in 1869."

The Doctor went to explain, but Able beat him to the punch, "Time's a wibbly woobly mess! You're thinking about it as a straight line, but really it's more like a bit huge circle, full of twisted up possibilities, some things are fixed, but others are not settled points, things that are changed by the way people choose. This will become a fixed point, as many important things are. There are millions of possibilities for which fixed point it will become – Ultimately it depends on the choices we make. Should we decide that the Gelth stay in 1869 as corpses and fellows to humans, when we go back to our time, history will be changed to match that, and the fixed point will become, well, fixed. If it's hard to understand, it's because the human language doesn't have the words needed to describe it."

"That is the most accurately I've ever heard a human describe it." The Doctor said, staring at Able with a little bit of pleasant surprise.

Able gave the room a grin, "Well, I was raised by a Time Space Rift, what did you expect."

The gas lamps suddenly started to flicker, making the easy going atmosphere completely disappear as the Gelth started to swarm around the room. They settled down under a stone looking entrance, and Able could feel The Rift itself swell. He sent a probe toward The Rift, but was, for the first time in his life, ignored.

" **You've come to help! Praised the Doctor! Praise him!** "

"Please, don't hurt her!" Rose begged, looking at her new friend in worry.

Able, despite his anger toward her at the moment, placed an arm around her in an attempt to comfort.

" **Under the arch. We can leave from under the arch!** " The Gelth spoke, frantically, as though trying to hurry it along.

 _They were dying_ , Able reasoned, but the foreboding feeling was coming back in full.

Gwyneth stood there, and suddenly, Able felt a rush of energy run through his body. It was everything he could do to not fall to his knees at the influx. The Rift was sending him so much, much more than it ever had before. It was going by so fast, the ginger almost felt like he was in a trance. He felt everything, like everything was in his reach. The Gelth were – Liars. They were liars and it was too late, far too late.

It was always too late, since the second Able had been born. Able could feel himself being pulled backwards, he was being shouted at, asked if he was okay.

He wasn't okay.

Able could feel The Doctor press against his mind – The ginger kept him out, this moment, this realization, this was for Able only.

Ever since he was born, Able was on this road. He would travel with The Doctor, he would take the energy from The Rift, The Rift would use him so as not to allow itself to explode, so that it didn't engulf the Earth they had come to care for in their sentience. The TARDIS had given the gift of understanding to The Rift through the visits – With sentience comes an ending – Usually.

Able could see himself in the future – Just clips – He lived. Lived far into the future, farther than should be possible on a linear timeline. He wasn't just Able.

Able was The Rift.

The Original Rift had loved Able like a parent, loved Able like the ginger was the only thing that mattered to The Original Rift, because Able was the only thing that mattered them them, which is exactly why The Original Rift didn't mind the fact that it's existence was coming to an end, especially considering it would infinitely extend Able's.

Now, Able was The Rift, and he could feel himself being forced open – Could feel the Gelth coming through him. Sickening, these liars were using him, forcing him to give into their commands.

The Rift was no longer just around though – The Rift was now not only fully sentient, but also tangible, and oh, oh so human.

He closed it, snapped Gwyneth's mind in the process, and  _forced_  the Gelth back through. They didn't deserve new life, they didn't deserve anything but their dying world which should have been utterly annihilated during The Time War.

Then, the blackness came.

**R &R**

**If this was confusing, it should be. Humans can't understand The Rift – Their language doesn't have the capability. Just what do you humans think you are, Time Lords?**

               


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything that I've written. Yep, that's right, I own not even one iota of the below work.

 **Summary:** Able is an actual doctor, and so, so much more. We all know 'The Doctor' does have a pendent for running into impossible things - and if Able was anything, he was an impossible thing. (A twist on the usual OC and The Doctor formula has original ideas and later on, canon divergence. M/M)

 **Warnings:** This is a Doctor Who fic, so I doubt any of the readers will turn down reading this just because it's slash. After all, we have the canon Jack Harkness. (Who deserves a warning all on his own.) Canon typical violence, language, and later on there will probably be more explicit sexual content.

 **Chapter Warnings:** This has alluded to (some written out although no detail) sexual content, as well as drug use. (Cannabis/Weed only.)

 **Authour Note:** You can definitely tell the difference between something I'm writing without any sort of consulting episode as the writing style pretty much completely changes. There is a lot of character arc in this chapter – The first half of it in fact. It also includes a few other OCs that aren't generally going to be important. In fact, I don't think they'll come up again unless I'm suddenly struck by some inspiration.

As of right now, I'm really digging the interactions that Able and The Doctor are having in their minds, especially in this chapter. A good deal of this is because I feel like Ninth is really guarded and isn't the type to open up, even to someone as open-minded and accepting as Able. In their minds however, there isn't anything between them that could really allow for too much hiding. The Doctor doesn't want to turn away that feeling either - Both because at the moment Able needs it, and because he himself misses it.

 

 **Chapter Five:** **Aliens of London**

...

_The Rift was no longer just around though – The Rift was now not only fully sentient, but also tangible, and oh, oh so human._

_He closed it, snapped Gwyneth's mind in the process, and_ _forced_ _the Gelth back through. They didn't deserve new life, they didn't deserve anything but their dying world which should have been utterly annihilated during The Time War._

_Then, the blackness came._

...

Able's fuzzy senses started to wake up one-by-one as he stared up at the ceiling of his room on the TARDIS. That's all he did though, laid there and stared at the ceiling – Had been for a good hour now as his thoughts drifted. A stray thought left him wondering if he had somehow broken himself. It was normal to just sit in place for a few hours and just stare at something.

Then, he remembered.

The Original Rift, it was gone, and in its place was a Human Rift – an impossibility.

Able could remember the entire experience, the feeling of so much at his fingers. Knowledge, power, in some ways, even time itself had been at Able's whim in those few moments. He'd used that power to close himself off, to separate himself from the Gelth's world, and as a Rift, that had exhausted him. The ginger had just torn apart several million possibilities in time after all.

After which, Rosie and The Doctor must have carried him back to the TARDIS.

That was what happened, and at the moment, the ginger felt numb to it all. Oh, he knew that wouldn't last, this blissful numb was going to fade away and reveal the hurt. He'd lost his parent, guardian, his GOD all at once, and now he had – Universe he didn't even want to think about this – A sort of immortality. How it worked, Able had no idea, he was too concerned with dealing with the Gelth problem to look into it, and now he was too exhausted to look into his own future. Did he even want to do that if he could? The simple answer was no, he didn't.

If he did, than he would know when the hurt was coming.

The Original Rift had known the whole time they were dealing with Able what was going to happen, and it was agonizing for them. Able was smart enough to not want to put himself through the same thing.

Except, of course, for the inevitable want to experiment and figure out the extent of which his abilities and existence went.

"Finally awake, The Able?" The Doctor's voice spoke, somewhere around the doorway, but Able didn't turn, just stared at the ceiling.

"How are you feeling?" The Doctor asked, but he still got no answer, "I can't imagine how overwhelming something like this must be, I mean look at you, a whole bundle of endless possibilities... So fascinating. Do you have any pain?"

"Numb." Able answered simply, still staring at the ceiling.

"Physically or just emotionally?"

Able couldn't find the words though. Everything was so overwhelming, so much had happened... His whole life up to this point had been on a sure path that couldn't have been changed, and that path lead to the death of -

Instead of saying anything, Able held out a hand toward The Doctor, finally looking at the leather coated man out of the corner of his eye. The Doctor seemed to understand what Able wanted, and grasped the gingers hand – Immediately Able's mind sought the Time Lord's.

 _Need NEED, confusion, pain, everything, everything all at once and nothing he'd done ever meant anything. Disillusioned, grief-stricken, insecure, alienated._ Yet all of those emotions were just sitting on the surface, they weren't being felt deeply – Or where they? Able couldn't really tell anymore.

The Doctor nearly flinched backwards, but forced himself to stay still and allow his mind to stay connected, ' _What do you need, The Able, what would make you feel better? Show me._ '

Able had always dealt with his emotions in one of two ways. The first possibility was going to The Rift for comfort, a possibility which no longer existed. The second was to work off the emotions, drown himself in them in a way that was so purely and utterly human, sex. One of the most unhealthy way of dealing with your problems. One day, just one day back on his schedule from his linear timeline – Something familiar and comfortable.

' _Home, please._ ' Able projected, sending across his need, need for familiarity, comfort, his work, a partner, just a general need for a calm day that didn't involve time travel after everything they'd been through in the past few days.

 _Hurt, dejection, guilt,_ The Doctor projected before he could stop himself, ' _You want to leave me?_ '

Able felt the first sharp emotion sense he woke up, actually felt the emotion deep within himself, shock at the fact his leaving could hurt The Doctor, and he want to fix it, ' _Nonono, just a day or two, just to rest... I wouldn't give this up._ '

Able sent the the positives he'd felt well traveling in the TARDIS, _Awe, inspiration, amusement, joy, fondness, elation, hopeful, pleased, intrigued, and so, so much more._

The Doctor sent back his relief, and his awkwardness at the emotionally charged environment had him pulling away from the gingers mind a moment later, "Rose expressed a way to go see her mother for a little bit as well. We're going to Earth in just a little while. We should land about twelve hours after you guys left."

The Doctor paused for a second, looking over the still blankly staring Able for a moment, "Are you sure that you aren't experiencing anything abnormal? No lose of time, headaches, general body pains, there's absolutely nothing that I should be worried about?" The Doctor asked, slightly suspicious.

A human had never become a Time Rift before, so who knew what was meant to happen, it shouldn't have ever been possible...

Able shook his head minutely, and The Doctor left to set course to Earth.

...

...

...

Able felt the shaking of the TARDIS as it felt the vortex and entered Earth. His numb feeling of need propelled him upward and out into the console room. Judging by the weirdly sympathetic looks he was graced with, Able guessed he wasn't looking his best. He didn't mind getting that sympathy from The Doctor, but right now Able was still on the fence about his dear Rosie Tyler.

Those emotions were numbed as well.

Able couldn't look at her, didn't look at her as they all left the TARDIS.

"How long have we been gone?" Rose asked as they exited the TARDIS.

The Doctor gave her a grin, "About twelve hours."

Rose gave a little laugh, and Able forced himself not to smile at it, because it was just a natural reaction at this point to do so, no matter what his emotional state was. What did that say about him, that even when he was shattered to pieces, he still cared about Rose more than himself. A Rose that would have sacrificed himself for Gwyneth.

"So, what are you going to tell her?" The Doctor asked, in regards to Rose's mother.

"Oh, I'm not sure. 'We've been to the year five billion and we were only gone for something like twelve hours', something creative like that I suppose." Rose joked, gaining a snort from The Doctor.

"Probably more like I spent the night at Able's place, I'll be back soon, Doctor!" Rose exclaimed as she ran off for her mother, although she paused for a second and turned toward Able, and sternly spoke, "We will talk later!"

Then she ran off, leaving both Able and The Doctor to themselves, staring after the blonde for a few moments.

Able moved to go to his own place, but was stopped by a firm hand wrapping around his arm. Slowly, Able turned his dead eyes toward the Time Lord, only to have something silver moving around his vision like a pendulum. It looked like a key or some sort, placed onto some sort of necklace chain.

It was placed around his neck by The Doctor, "To the TARDIS, she'll be waiting for you here when you're ready to come back."

Able forced himself to nod, then started to make his way back to his apartment building.

The ginger didn't really have friends other than Rose Tyler. She was the only person other than The Rift that Able had ever really opened up to in his life. However, he did have other acquaintances. The neighboring couple were two such people. They had always expressed to him that they would be there for him if he ever needed them for something other than what they already partook together. The blue-eyed male wouldn't be giving them that, but he did know he could trust them in his time of... need.

He drifted there, not really taking too much stake in the current on-goings of his surroundings, and he knocked on their door. Immediately a rather attractive dark haired woman answered the door, a smile on her face especially when she saw who it was, "Able! We have been so worried about you! A year, a whole year and you didn't tell us anything... We're just so glad your okay."

A year... The Doctor really was bad at driving his TARDIS

"Please, come in, Harvelle is just in the other room finishing up some of his work." The woman stepped aside and let Able into the homey living area.

The couple just gave off a feeling of acceptance, their house was filled with pictures of them doing fun, interesting things with so many different types of people. Sky diving, road trips, so many things. The couple were actually YouTubers, so they made money making videos of them doing these things. Harvelle was probably editing a video in the other room.

"Thanks Jaylee." Able said simply, his expression rather blank still.

Jaylee looked extremely worried, "Able... Did something happen?"

The ginger took a deep breath, gave a simple nod, but nothing more.

"I'll go get Harvelle, we can go relax in the living room for awhile, or whatever you need." Jaylee said simply, not asking for more information, just accepting Able for what he currently was and wanting to provide for his needs.

About an hour later, all three of them were cuddled onto the couples king sized bed. Just innocent cuddling, giving Able something stable, and a few hits in, the ginger was spilling everything that had happened to him that week, what had happened to him his entire life, and the couple just listened. They didn't ask for more, they just sat there and comforted him, told him that everything was going to be alright – Provided him with rather expensive quality weed and plied him with the warmth that he had been needing since he knew that The Original Rift was now gone forever. When somewhere along the lines, Able kissed Harvelle and the comfort became so much less innocent as tongues intertwined, the couple just accepted him once again.

They gave and gave and gave Able what he needed.

The world needed more people like Harvelle and Jaylee Parkens.

...

...

...

All three blissed out humans laid in that same king sized bed and caressed each other and exchanging effortless kisses. Normally Able wouldn't have done something like that – Too emotionally involved for him. However, not only was he high on a mixture of sex and cannabis, but he had already poured out so many of his feelings to the couple, and for once he needed it.

He needed it like he needed food, or water, or sleep even.

He wasn't sure that the Parkens believed his story, but the way that they were here for him regardless was so warm, so heavy in his chest, and it was like the entire world lit for just a moment.

His best friend might hate him, his god might be dead, his parent might be gone, and he might live a never ending life of loneliness – But right here, right now, he had these two wonderful people. Even though he had blabbered on about all the things that had happened to him, he hadn't felt it until right then.

He cried, and the two held him together in their arms.

Able's broken being was being placed back together, and he could feel himself again. He had needed this more than he'd known, this connection with another being that he'd missed so much over the last week and he'd not even noticed. Of course, the ginger wasn't fine, he was nowhere close, but he could feel himself starting to heal after just a little bit of simple acceptance from these two.

Why couldn't Rose have given him the same thing.

"Thanks by the way, for emailing in my research." Able suddenly said as he got up from the bed, stretching his naked body unashamedly, feeling the mild aches and pains that were actually almost pleasant considering the manner in which they were received.

Harvelle just gave him a soft smile, "Anytime, Able."

"Mmm... Look at how much we've talked about me, how have the two of you been?"

"Not too busy, doing some vlogs around London, went to some of the conventions in America as well. I'll leave you boys to talk though, my mother just sent me a text to check out the news. Don't have too much fun without me." Jaylee said, getting up herself and leaving, but not before gracing another kiss to both her husband, and a pliant, relaxed Able.

"You know that we're here for you, right?" Harvelle suddenly asked, looking at Able intently.

Able gave him a soft smile in return, feeling rather vulnerable, "I do now... I might never take you up on it, I won't lie... But I do know, and I appreciate it."

"Good." With that, he was pulled in for another lingering kiss, which was interrupted a few seconds later.

"Boys! You'd better come see this!" Jaylee called from the other room. Both males exchanged a look, and walked in to see her staring at the television in shock. Displayed on it was a rather particular headline.

**Alien Ship Crashes into Big Ben**

Of course, Able shouldn't have expected anything less considering The Doctor was in London. Trouble seemed to follow the Time Lord. Both Harvelle and Jaylee were looking at the TV in shock when the door was burst open and several men in suits walked in, looking rather frantic.

"Excuse me, we are looking for Doctor Able, he's requested to be in an important meeting. We have information that tells us his work has been being sent from this apartment."

Suddenly the men who had walked in looked rather abashed – Probably at the nakedness of the people they had just walked in on, both Harvelle and Jaylee quickly covered up, whereas Able didn't bother. They were the ones that just burst in rather unceremoniously after all.

"I'm Doctor Able, a meeting you say?" Able said, falling into pattern and allowing his curiosity to take hold.

One of the men cleared their throat, "Yes, we are here to escort you to the meeting. If you would put on some clothing, sir..."

"Sorry, I don't go with strangers that randomly come into someone's house without knocking and without introducing themselves. You might be some kind of pervert – You were probably just looking for a quick peak." Able teased, but went to get dressed anyway. He knew that this was actually important, despite the jokes he was making.

Whatever this meeting was, Able was without a doubt far too high for it. It was probably a good thing, it would keep him relaxed and much happier... as opposed to the depressed mess of PTSD he'd been when he first came over to his lovely neighbors house.

"Sorry, Sir, we were throw off by your... appearance when we entered." The man said, turning the other way as Able got dressed in his converse, knee length sweat-pants, tang-top, watch, and glasses. Nothing for the sex hair without a shower, and he wasn't going to be getting that considering the rush the men were using when it came to finding him, "We were dispatched by U.N.I.T to gather top men and woman in their fields for an important meeting in regards to the current situation."

"Next time, maybe knock, unless you want to end up entering during the actual deed." Able gave the guy a little wink before turning toward the rather stunned couple, who were quickly adapting as per usual, "Thank you guys, again... You helped me a lot."

"Anytime." Jaylee and Harvelle said in tandem.

Able left with the U.N.I.T people, knowing damn well that he wouldn't be taking them up on that offer, just as he'd before expressed to Harvelle.

...

...

...

Somehow, Able wasn't all that surprised to see both Rose and The Doctor already there when he arrived. It did give Able a feeling of individuality though, because he was here on his own importance – not because of The Doctor, like Rose was.

"Doctor Able! Here is your I.D, it is to be worn at all times." He was then handed a laminated identification card with his picture on it, his new clearance level, and his field of importance. Doctor of Theoretical Physics with focus on Dynamics, "Here is everything we have on the trajectories of the ship and the variables at the time the crash happened."

Able put his I.D around his neck and grabbed the vanilla folders being handed to him, immediately opening them up and starting to study them.

It took about three seconds for him to notice what was wrong with the situation.

"Able! What are you doing here?" He heard Rose exclaim, as she and The Doctor came closer.

Despite his anger at her, he couldn't help but smile at just how excited Rose was to be here. The Doctor looked manically excited as well, quite in character for him.

"Rosie, The Doctor." Able greeted with a tight smile to them, before pressing his shoulder against The Doctor, pressing against the man's mind like a cat seeking affection.

Or like someone high on cannabis acts for cuddles.

The Doctor gave a little chuckle, and the amusement ran from the man's mind and into Able's chest, warming him up. The blue-eyed male practically absorbed as much of the feeling as he could before detaching their minds once more.

"Seriously though, what are you doing here?" The blondes voice was full of inquisitiveness

"I'm a top person in my field across the entire planet, and this relates to my area of expertise. Dynamics of movement and the effects outside forces have on it, how things move, things like that. Such as, I have this folder here with the specifics of the ships trajectory and I already took a look at it and guess what I found." Able spoke, motioning toward the folder in his hand, bouncing on his toes like a child, and his eyes flashing with a familiar sort of excitement, it faded quickly, but it had been there.

Able would heal.

"When the spaceship was making its way to Earth it did a slingshot around before it landed." The Doctor stated.

"Usually people ruining my moment of brilliance and recognition would hurt my feelings, but since it's you, The Doctor, I'll forgive you." Able teased, unsurprised that he'd figured it out first.

Rose seemed a bit shaken, "I had no idea you were that important. I knew you were smart but..."

"You never showed that much interest in my job so that was expected." Able rolled his eyes, but before anything else could be said, Rose hugged him close around his neck, just held him.

A full thirty seconds passed before she spoke again, "I'm sorry."

"You're forgiven."

Able didn't even realize the words had left his mouth until after they had. It didn't make them any less correct though. Universe, he'd forgive Rose for anything, there was nothing she could do that he wouldn't forgive the second she asked for it. Was their relationship codependent? No, because it wasn't that equal. It was simply Able recognizing one of his few connections to this world – Now, perhaps, his only deep connection.

With The Original Rift gone, he couldn't afford to not forgive her.

The Doctor looked rather enthused, looking between the two of them with joy written across his face. It would likely be awkward for him if the two best friends had remained fighting, "I love a happy medium."

"I love your dad jokes." Able bantered, and wrapped an arm around Rose's shoulder.

"Ladies and gentlemen, can we convene?" A rather handsome man spoke as he walked through the room, grabbing the attention of those around him, "Quickly as we can please, through here and on the right. I should remind you that the I.D. cards are to be worn at all times."

The man reached their little trio and handed The Doctor a lanyard, "Here's your I.D. card, I'm sorry though, you're companion, Rose was it? She does not have the clearance to be here."

"I'm not going in there without her." The Doctor defended, trying to wiggle her in.

Able wondered why he didn't just give her the psychic paper, but there was nothing to be done about it now. The ginger squinted toward the I.D. card the handsome male was wearing – Indra, a nice name to match the face.

"You're the one with Code Nine clearance, not her. Sorry The Doctor, she'll have to wait outside."

"The Doctor, perhaps we should just listen to Indra. You have to admit – Sorry about this, Lover – That even if she were to wiggle her way into the meeting, she wouldn't have any uses there." As the words left his mouth, he was promptly hit with the nostalgic feeling of Rose's elbow in his side.

The Doctor looked about ready to protest, but ended up shrugging his agreement. That got him issued the patented Rose Tyler elbow.

Able removed his arm from around his favourite blondes shoulders and instead wrapped it around The Doctor's. He looked inherently uncomfortable with it, but didn't shrug the human off either. Probably because of the fragile emotion state the ginger had been in – and Able wasn't the type to ignore such an advantage, especially in his heightened want for cuddles and comfort.

They walked together into a rather stuffy meeting room, ignoring those around them. There were a lot of military types there, a few scientists like Able, easily recognized for how famous they were in their fields.

"You're feeling better than?" The Doctor asked quietly, but with a seriousness he'd been lacking before.

Able tilted his head a bit and felt out his own emotions , "I'm feeling a lot better... I got what I needed, in multiple ways."

"I can smell as much."

Able could feel his own eyebrow rise at the retort, and teased, "Oh, you can? Are you curious? I can let you in on all the juicy little details. In fact, I could show you, if you wanted."

Before The Doctor could respond, the little banter was interrupted by a man in a military uniform at the front of the room who was holding a now familiar vanilla folder, "Ladies and gentleman if I could have your attention please. As you can see from the summaries in front of you, the ship had one porcine pilot."

The Doctor picked up his folder and quickly scanned through the entire thing in a matter of minutes.

Able had only looked at the section pertaining to his field of study, but The Doctor was a quick read apparently, because he was already opening that bit mouth of his, "Of course the really interesting bit happened three days ago, see? Filed away under any other business. The North Sea Satellite detected a signal, a little blip of radiation at 100 fathoms, like there's something down there. You were just about to investigate, next think you know, this happens."

The Time Lord had got up and was passing through the room as he summarized, "Spaceships, pigs, massive diversion. From what? If aliens fake an alien crash and an alien pilot, what do they get?"

Able fought his urge to wince at the word 'alien' – He really needed to talk to The Doctor about his use of it. Then, the words sunk in, and Able quickly caught up with The Doctor's next line of thought.

"Us... They get us... It's not a diversion, it's a trap. This is all about us, alien experts, the only people with the knowledge on how to find them. Gathered together in one room." The Doctor continued, his face screwed in thought as the surrounding people started to get in on the realization. What The Doctor was saying happened to be logical and concise, and people such as the ones in this room wouldn't ignore something like that.

"Honestly, I'm pretty honoured, I'm important enough to be one of their targets. How amazing..." Able whispered to himself, ignoring the looks he got from a few of those around him.

Except The Doctor, who looked rather tickled the observation.

Farting sounds erupted soon after.

"Excuse me, do you mind not farting while I'm saving the world?" The Doctor said, looking put out.

The chubby man at the front of the room looked rather smug, "Would you rather it be silent but deadly?"

As he finished those words, the two dropped pretense and one of them started to unzip themselves. The lights in the room went off, and as the zipper released, a blue glowing emanated from inside the hole. Everyone in the room was looking rather shocked toward the leaders of this meeting – A meeting meant to be held to deal with the different species – were actually what they were in the meeting to discuss.

The 'aliens' in question were laughing as one of them peeled off their human skin, revealing the green skin underneath, they had pudgy stomachs and long arms with large talon like fingernails, three of them on each hand. They bad large black eyes on their chubby looking faces, standing about seven foot tall.

"We are the Slitheen." After they spoke, it's eyes blinked from the left and right sides, as opposed to a human up and down blink.

Several of the experts seemed about ready to make a run for it.

Able was watching the transformation with amazed eyes – and what an interesting species. What was their world like, for them to evolve in such a way.

"Thank you all for wearing your I.D. cards." The one remaining in human skin said, pulling out some sort of switch from inside his jacket and activating it, "They'll help to identify the bodies."

Electricity coursed through Able's body, and he could feel it within every cell, the pain was horrible, excruciating, and he couldn't help but ask himself if this was the sort of pain the hazmat suit guy that Able had killed went through. Then, the ginger noticed something strange. Every time one of his cells died, that cell just flipped itself around, back in time to just a few moments before it had died, and every cell in his body was doing so. When his heart stopped beating because of the electrical currents disturbing it, the heart went back to the state it had been just a few moments before, when it was beating strong. The process continued on and on, never stopping, as the 'aliens' that had designed to kill him laughed at their misfortune.

**R &R**

**Alright, I hope you guys don't hate me for the whole bunch of just OC interaction stuff. I tried to keep that as concise as possible. I'm sure it's not as interesting as Able interacting with The Doctor or Rose, but it was needed. This is how his character would naturally deal with something like this - At least, when he doesn't have The Rift to fall back on.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:**  I don't own anything that I've written. Yep, that's right, I own not even one iota of the below work.

 **Summary:**  Able is an actual doctor, and so, so much more. We all know 'The Doctor' does have a pendent for running into impossible things - and if Able was anything, he was an impossible thing. (A twist on the usual OC and The Doctor formula has original ideas and later on, canon divergence. M/M)

 **Warnings:**  This is a Doctor Who fic, so I doubt any of the readers will turn down reading this just because it's slash. After all, we have the canon Jack Harkness. (Who deserves a warning all on his own.) Canon typical violence, language, and later on there will probably be more explicit sexual content.

 **Authour Note:**  So I based a bit of the power system for Able on The Flash TV show. Calories burned during its use, more will be explained and discovered as we go on, but that's the gist of it. I'm starting to plan on dispersing these chapters after a bit more time has passed. I really hope that more of you guys will start reviewing the story as well. Of course you don't have to, but meh. It actually seems like not a whole lot of people are interested in the story, which kind of makes me sad. Nothing for it though, I'm enjoying writing it and I've fallen in love with my own character. I love the next episode, "Dalek", so I'm bound to have loads of fun writing that one.

I've got to say, I feel like Able sort of fell into the background in the second part of of this chapter. The beginning was all well and good, but when you have four characters in the room, it's hard not to let one of them go, I also feel like there were a lot of canon-lines this chapter. Not that Able said them, like those other OC stories, but just like, it felt like a whole lot of regurgitation. I hope it's still enjoyable, and please, leave me your thoughts.

**Chapter Six:** **World War Three**

...

_Electricity coursed through Able's body, and he could feel it within every cell, the pain was horrible, excruciating, and he couldn't help but ask himself if this was the sort of pain the hazmat suit guy that Able had killed went through. Then, the ginger noticed something strange. Every time one of his cells died, that cell just flipped itself around, back in time to just a few moments before it had died, and every cell in his body was doing so. When his heart stopped beating because of the electrical currents disturbing it, the heart went back to the state it had been just a few moments before, when it was beating strong. The process continued on and on, never stopping, as the 'aliens' that had designed to kill him laughed at their misfortune._

...

It was no surprise that Able wasn't thinking to the best of his ability. With so much electricity running through his body at once, it had to interfere with the neural connections in his brain. That, and the horrible amount of pain coursing through his body. The Doctor didn't seem to have the same problem, as he lifted his hand and pulled the I.D. off of himself.

Why didn't Able think of that?

Probably because he didn't have a super advanced Time Lord brain to protect from electrical interference.

So he didn't come up with the idea on his own, but once Able had seen The Doctor do it, he followed suit. Although, frankly, Able was much less dramatic. He just dropped his on the floor, whereas The Doctor held it in his hand for a few moments as he turned toward the Slitheen, walking closer with his I.D.

"Deadly to humans, maybe."

He took the electrified I.D. and pushed it into the unsuited Slitheen, making the suited one next to him also wither in pain as the electricity ravaged through them.

The Doctor quickly turned toward Able, seeing him panting on the floor, rather boneless for the time being. Despite the situation, the Time Lord looked rather intrigued to find his companion still living – Relieved to be sure – but it was dreadfully interesting, and The Doctor wanted to understand it.

"The Able, you are one lucky little ducky." The Doctor whispered, looking the panting, pained ginger over once again.

"This is why people do kink negotiations first. My no-no list has electricity play, and they didn't listen when I said my safe-word either..." Able joked rather feebly, pulling himself together.

The Doctor kept an eye on the pained Slitheen as he asked, "Safe-word?"

"Yep, my safe-word is, 'please stop daddy!' I know, it's more of a phrase. I've gotten a lot of complaints about that over the years."

The pain quickly faded completely, did joking help? Wasn't there that one movie that had the punch line of laughter being the best medicine? Maybe that was true, well, either that or being a Time Rift. Could have been either of those things.

"Run?" Able asked, a grin on his face, but it faded when faced with the emotional baggage.

"Run." The Doctor agreed with a manic grin.

The Doctor grabbed Able's hand and they were both rushing out the door without another second to lose. The second they were in the hallway, they released their grip on one another and they came across the armed guards a few more hallways over. The Doctor was practically making a joke out of it, "You want aliens? They are here in Downing Street, come on then, chop chop."

The soldiers followed The Doctor without question. That was perhaps one of the most interesting things about this day – Why did they do that? Where they told to do that? Was it the tone that the Doctor had used, or was it perhaps the fact that they already knew the possibility? They could have even been in on it – Far too many possibilities and far too little time to think them all through.

When they got back, both of the 'aliens' were back in their suits and the one masquerading as the Prime Minister pointed toward The Doctor, "Why, there was this electricity, and they all dropped dead... Them, they're the ones that did it."

"I think you'll find that the Prime Minister is an alien in disguise." They all looked at each other for a moment.

"That's never going to work, is it?"

"No." One of the soldiers replied, but Able and The Doctor had already taken off, racing down the halls with the military then on their heels.

"The Doctor, I'm starting to think you are hazardous to my continued living." Able claimed as they ran, the adrenaline flowing through Able's body, his high now almost completely faded, considering how much cell regeneration he went through, likely not a surprise.

A moment later, they were surrounded, guns pointed toward them from everywhere.

Yet, neither Able nor The Doctor were really worried.

"I demand that you execute these two, right now!" The 'Prime Minister' exclaimed, looking rather put out by all the running.

"Well, as it were, if I was the one ordering the execution of someone, I think I'd make damn sure that the wall I was backing that person up towards is indeed a wall, and not a lift." The door opened, and both Able and The Doctor stepped in, "You see, The Able, it's not that bad. I always get out of the trouble I get into... Eventually."

"It's the eventually part that's particularly worrying."

The Doctor pressed his sonic against the lift's control panel, just as the door opened to reveal another Slitheen

"Hello!"

The door was already closing, Able could see Rose running around behind and felt a sting of worry, but had his own potential execution to worry about at the moment. Besides, she seemed to have someone else with her. At least, Able tried to calm himself by thinking that, it didn't work.

"How many are there, do you think?" Able asked, not really sure he wanted to know with Rose running around without him.

"Can't have been too many, there weren't enough fat people in the building." The Doctor stated bluntly.

If nothing else, all the running around was going to end up doing wonders for Able's  _stamina_ , because when you were with The Doctor, that seemed to be a vast majority of what you did. The second they were off the lift they were running down stairs, and they second they were down stairs there was more running, then –

The sound of the Slitheen coming down the hallway, The Doctor grabbed Able and pulled the ginger behind the door with him.

Pressing them way too close together for Able to want to keep his best wing-man status, because all the running did The Doctor a lot of good. It was easy to tell, from the way they were pressed so closely together. Before Able could think of something that would undoubtedly be a hilarious and inappropriate for the situation comment, they were running off again, this time following the Slitheen closely. The Doctor grabbed a fire extinguisher on the way, and upon hearing Rose scream, rushed into the room, spraying the Slitheen with the powder.

"Who the hell are you?" The Doctor asked, looking at the elder woman who had been with Rose.

Able grabbed his best friends hand tightly in his own, feeling her shaking.

"Harriet Jones, MP for Flydate North." The woman stated rather officially.

"Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." She said, fixing her outfit.

"Is this really the time for pleasantries?" Able asked, looking at the two having a little introduction. Instead of answering, The Doctor triggered the fire extinguisher once again and they all ran out of the room, down a corridor – at this point they all looked the same – and The Doctor seemed to be looking for something specific.

"We need to get to the cabinet rooms." He stated as he looked between doors.

"The Emergency Protocols are in there! They give instructions on aliens!" Harriet exclaimed.

Able suddenly burst, "STOP IT WITH THE ALIEN THING! God that word is so damn offensive do you even think about the things that come out of your mouths! Universe, you people!"

"Really?! Now is the time you decide to say that?!" Rose asked, looking at her ginger jogging buddy incredulously.

Eventually, they followed The Doctor and he unlocked a particular door with his sonic. The Slitheen were fast approaching, staying on the humans, and Time Lords tail. The species seemed to be able to have short bursts of incredible speed before they slowed down to a human running speed. Yet, they were intelligent to use the ability correctly, picking times when they needed to turn to use it, almost never during a straight line. If anything, they were falling behind despite their physicality being better than a humans. Once they were safely in the room which the Time Lord led them to, The Doctor grabbed a bottle of alcohol and held up his sonic to it.

"Come another step and I'm triplicating the alcohol content of this brandy and setting it off, BAM! We all go up, so, kindly back off a bit." The Doctor spoke, a familiar manic grin across his lips.

The green beings froze in place, even going as far as to take a step back.

"Right then, time for a little pow-wow, who exactly are the Slitheen?" The Doctor asked.

"They're aliens." Harriet answered.

Able couldn't help the sardonic smirk that crossed his face, especially after she used that word after his outburst,"What a help you are Harriet Jones."

He promptly got an elbow to the stomach, and Harriet had a small offended look on her face, although she seemed to get over it quickly enough, and smoothed over her expression. Able was still quickly making a disapproving outlook on her.

"Who are you, if not human." The Slitheen asked in return.

Able narrowed his eyes, "I believe The Doctor asked a question first, and seeing as how he's the one with the weapon..."

"We are hunters." One of the Slitheen stated, keeping it as simple as possible. Perhaps Able had underrated their intelligence. After all, they did invade the British Government. Maybe they weren't comparable to Able's intelligence, but then again, few were.

"So then, what's the plan?" The Doctor followed up with, although he looked rather unimpressed with the previous answer, "You've got a spaceship hidden in the North Sea, transmitting a signal, and you've murdered your way to leading the government, whatever for? Something bought the Slitheen race here, what is it?"

"The Slitheen race?" One of them asked, a hint of laughter in their voice.

"Slitheen is not our species, it is our surname. I am Jocrassa Fel Fotch Pasameer Day Slitheen, at your service."

Able blinked, "Hello Jocrassa Fel Fotch Pasameer Day Slitheen, I'm Doctor Able, nice to meet you."

"Didn't you just tell me off for doing that, The Able?" The Doctor mentioned, before turning back toward the Slitheen, "So, you're a family... Must be out for profit then, the only reason other species ever really come to this planet. So, what is it that you're here for?"

"Ahhh, excuse me, what did you say your device would do, triple the alcohol content and set fire...?"

 _Caught~_  Able sang in his mind childishly.

The Slitheen was getting ready to attack, having noticed the falsity, when The Doctor just stared them down, "Fascinating history, Downing Street. Nearly two thousand years ago, this was marsh land. Then, in the 1730s, it was occupied by a Chicken, he was a nice guy. Nearly turn of the 1800s, this is the cabinet room, and if the cabinet is in session and in danger, these are the four safest walls in the whole of Great Britain." The Doctor gave a cheeky smile, "End of lesson."

He pressed a button on the wall, and the room was blocked with large, thick panels of metal in all directions, safely trapping the Slitheen on the outside, but them together on the inside.

"Installed some time in 1991, three inches of steel lining in every wall. They'll never make it in."

"Guess that means we won't be making it out, either." Able stated, getting a sheepish look from The Doctor.

A few minutes later, Able was sat against the wall, just sort of staring off as The Doctor put several dead bodies into the cabinet and away from the general viewing. He was so caught up in what was happening at the moment that he'd forgotten the extent to which he'd been burdened the past few days, and maybe that was how The Doctor did it. Instead of dealing with the things he'd been through, like his whole race dying, he ran and did dangerous things. Several people did it, and Able was quickly becoming one of them.

"What was his name?" The Doctor said as he walked past with a familiar body in arms.

"Indra, and what a shame that is." Able said, shrinking away a little at the sight of such a bright handsome person going before their time.

"Really?" Harriet asked, looking rather guilty, "I didn't know... I talked to him, brought him coffee, but I never thought to ask his name..."

"Sorry..." The Doctor said to Indra's limp body, perhaps wishing he'd figured it out sooner and had been able to save the secretary, "Right, have we got anything in here? A terminal, computer, anything?"

"No," Rose stated, looking around the room, "This place is completely antique. Something I don't get, is when they killed the Prime Minister, why didn't they just use him as a disguise."

"He's too slim, they are far too big to fit inside a human that isn't of similar stature." As The Doctor explained, he took out his sonic screwdriver and started to scan around the walls.

"But the Slitheen are about 7 feet, how do they squeeze inside?"

"That's the device around their necks, compression field, literally shrinks them down a bit. That's why there's all that gas, it's a big exchange." The Doctor explained, grabbing Able's attention. He couldn't help but wonder how the device worked, but not only that, why the gas was rather continuous. After all, sure, the has made sense a few times, but it seemed to be continuous even after they had been wearing a human suit for some time. At which point, they would have already been packed in, so there was no more exchanging to be done. Maybe the size fluctuated, or something along those lines.

"Wish I had a compression field I could fit a size smaller." Rose joked.

"You don't need it, Lover." Able assured, looking Rose over with a keen-eye.

Harriet looked a bit put out, "Excuse me, people are dead, this is not the time for making jokes!"

"A good lot of humans, and from what I've seen, other species, use humour as a way of dealing with stressful situation. It helps to lighten the tense atmosphere and promotes better thinking. Stressed brains typically don't work as well as the otherwise, probably because stressed people are more likely to get frustrated." Able mused, getting another look at Harriet. She certainly seemed like the stern type – The kind of person you really didn't want as your math teacher, but likely made a good politician. The type that would stick with their opinions and what they were put into office for.

"Harriet Jones, I've heard that name before, Harriet, you're not famous for anything, are you?" The Doctor asked, staring at her face closely, giving it a study, as Harriet read over the protocols.

"Hardly! Lifelong back-bencher I'm afraid, and I'm not much use now. The protocols are redundant, they list the people who can help and they're all dead downstairs." She admitted, seeming a bit frustrated.

Who could blame her?

That was either a wonderful streak of brilliance on the Slitheen's part, or a horrible moment of stupid from the British Governments. There was a reason high profile people don't just all meet at one place at one time. Looking back on it, Able should have been far more suspicious from the start.

"Hasn't it got like defense codes and everything? Can't we just launch a nuclear bomb at them?" Rose suddenly asked.

"You trying to get us killed, Lover? They are in this building, if we were to launch such a bomb at them we would die as well, along with countless civilians in Britain, not only from just the bomb, but also the radiation... Britain would be devastated." Able explained, "Since we don't know what exactly they are up to, we can't known that such a sacrifice would be worth it either."

Harriet just kind of stare at Rose, "You're quite the violent young woman... Regardless, there is nothing like that in here. Those sorts of strikes need a release code, that release code is kept secret by the United Nations."

"Which we wouldn't be using if we could!" Able added, looking unamused. This was the sort of thing that would stop humanity from making it to 5.5/apple/26, just nuking one another to death.

"Say all that again." The Doctor demanded suddenly.

"What, about the codes?"

"Yes, all of it."

"Well, the British Isles can't gain access to atomic weapons without a special resolution from the United Nations." Harriet said, slower this time.

"Like that's ever stopped them before." Rose added.

"Exactly, given our past record, and I voted against that I'll have you know. The codes have been taken out of the governments hand and given over to the U.N." Harriet paused, looking at The Doctor full on, "Is it important?"

"Everything's important." The Doctor put simply.

"Well, they're just one family so it's not an invasion. They don't want Slitheen World, they're out to make money. That means they want to use something, something here on Earth, some kind of asset." The Doctor thought aloud.

"Like what? Gold, oil, water?" Harriet listed.

"No, if it was something like that they wouldn't need to infiltrate the government on such a level to achieve it. Must be something else." Able waved away, starting to get more and more excited as this went on. Who wouldn't, it was like a puzzle they only had half of the pieces for, but somehow, it was still coming together.

"Harriet Jones, why do I know that name?" The Doctor asked himself again, looking rather agonized.

Able smiled to himself, "Well The Doctor, your memory getting bad in your old age?"

"I'm only 900." He defended.

That... Was certainly not what Able had been expecting, he didn't look a day over mid-thirties. Then again he was a Time Lord, maybe his body just stayed that young. All of which was beside the point, because 900 could mean anything considering, "On what planet?"

"What do you mean?"

"900 years, but on what planet? A year for Earth is 365.25 days long, Earth-time. But, for all we know the years that are are telling us could be from Jupiter, which has 4,300 days Earth-time in a year." Able expanded, getting a sheepish look from The Doctor.

"You, The Able, are far too good at this." He admitted, but didn't expand upon just how old he was.

Able didn't really expect him to, but that just meant the ginger had been right in his theorizing, The Doctor was much older than 900 Earth years. With such a long life, it was no wonder he ran around with a manic grin, looking for an endorphin rush. Now that Able was going to live that long – Should his vision into the future of his own timeline had been correct – He knew himself well enough to say that something similar would have happened with him.

Rose's mobile went off a second later.

"Oh! That's mine." She said in surprise, taking it out of her pocket.

Able turned his analytical eyes toward The Doctor, who immediately understood what the ginger was trying to ask, "I posted the signal incoming through her phone and funneled it through space and time. I linked the telephone waves into the TARDIS' heart, and therefore the vortex. In order words, it's a super phone."

"Well we can call for help! There must be someone that we can contact." Harriet reasoned, looking toward The Doctor.

The Time Lord nodded in agreement, "Yeah, dead downstairs. The only ones that were on the list that survived were me and The Able."

Whatever Rose's phone had rung for, it wasn't a phone call. Likely a text message.

"It's Mickey."

Able immediately groaned in annoyance, just the thought of Mickey annoying him, "You've broken up with him right? He's just so... Stupid, and you've been gone for a year, surely he found someone else...?" Able finished hopefully.

"Not so stupid now, is he?" Rose said with a smug look toward her best friend as she lifted her phone, displaying a picture of a Slitheen in the Tyler's house.

"I'm not so sure that his ability to take a picture speaks much for his intelligence." Able returned.

Doctor's lips spreading in a beaming smile, "Quite right."

Rose's phone started to ring again, only this time it was a phone call. The blonde wasted no time answering – Swiftly asking over her mother's safety.

Before she could get an answer though, The Doctor strode up and took the phone from her, sarcastically speaking into it, "Is that Rickey? Don't talk, just go to your computer."

Exactly the way Mickey should be spoken to, utilizing the correct amount of respect for a worm. Able wondered, just for a second, if he was being too harsh on Mickey. A year had passed, the male might have actually matured. The ginger liked his title as open-minded and knew that he was massively hypocritical toward Mickey – The second those thoughts entered his mind, Able decided to give him one, just one chance.

Of course, that by no means meant that Able had to be nice to him, just that he didn't need to actively push against Mickey.

"Mickey the Idiot – I might just choke before I finish this sentence, but, painful as it is, I need you." The Doctor said, looking actually, physically pained to have to speak the words.

The Doctor put the phone onto speaker and started to give step-by-step instructions on what to do. The first was how to get to the website needed, the different steps to get to the page that they needed to be on, before finally Mickey was where The Doctor wanted him to be.

"It says password." He announced.

"Buffalo, two F's and one L." The Doctor answered, almost absentmindedly.

"U.N.I.T were the soldiers that came to bring me here, got a nice little eyeful as well, they did." Able announced.

"All the secret information known to mankind, " Mickey spoke, completely ignoring Able's words, and from his smug tone, the  _child_  knew what he was doing, "See, they've known about aliens for years, they just kept us in the dark."

Adorable, Mickey wanted to make Able seem stupid by knowing something about U.N.I.T that the ginger hadn't. The one change that he was giving the  _child_  was rather swiftly being thrown down a slope and into the sewage.

"A good number of the U.N.I.T leaders were in that meeting, although not all of them, they aren't idiots." The Doctor said to Able, before shooting at Mickey, "You were born in the dark, Mickey."

"Oh, leave him alone."

"Thank you." Mickey spoke, his tone lovesick, "It says password again."

"Just repeat it, it's the same every time." The Doctor expressed.

Able looked positively horrified, "You've got to be joking – You just claimed they were idiots, yet they gave the same password multiple times. That's beside the fact that Buffalo is a horrible password to begin with. No special characters, numbers, or capitalization. It's got to be the most unsafe, secret organization there is. No wonder Mick of all people can get onto it."

"Usually they aren't idiots." The Doctor amended his past statement without pause, recognizing the truth of what Able said.

Able suddenly had a stroke of inspiration, thinking back on the trajectory that he'd been given, something occurred to him that he hadn't thought to question, "The landing was incredibly staged."

"We know that." Harriet pointed on, wondering where this was going.

"It was VERY staged. The trajectory reports showed a fluctuation in the path right before it hit Big Ben. Which means that it wasn't going to hit on the first trajectory the Slitheen had planned, and they forced it to hit last minute. There is no possible outside forces present that could have brought about that change. It had to have been done internally, which begs the –" Able spoke.

"Why would they do that, yes it makes sense. If they wanted to gather the experts there was no need for a crash in the middle of London, those lot would have gathered for a strangely coloured weather balloon." The Doctor interrupted and finished the thought in a rush.

"The Doctor, what have I said about interrupting my moments of brilliance?"

"That you'd forgive me because I was so incredibly good looking?" The Time Lord returned.

Able thought it over, and gave a shrug, "Yeah, it was probably something like that."

Rose looked a bit put out, probably because of the mock flirting. It was as if the blonde didn't know her best friend at all! He was the best wingman ever. The little bit friendly flirting wasn't a pass on her future man. Still, she interrupted the exchange, "The Slitheen were hiding, but they went and put the entire planet on red alert, so other than the meeting, what else would that cause?"

At the very least, she did ask the right questions.

"Oh listen to her." Jackie said, apparently having grabbed the phone from Mickey.

"At least I'm trying." Rose defended.

Able turned toward The Doctor with a little grin and mock whispered, "Looks like it's getting a bit domestic."

He got a blank stare back, seems like the Time Lord really didn't like those sorts of dramatics then. Able had taken it as almost a joke, but The Doctor seemed to take it much more seriously.

"Well I've got a question if you don't mind, because ever since that man walked into our lives, bad things have happened. I've been attacked in the streets. I have had creatures from the pits of hell in my own living room. That's not even mentioning my daughter and her best friend suddenly disappearing off the face of the Earth." Jackie ranted, not even listening to Rose immediately stepping in to defend The Doctor, "I'm talking to him Rose! Stay out of it! I've seen this life of yours, Doctor, and maybe you get off on it. I don't know, maybe you think it's all clever, smart, but I'm willing to bet you can't answer me this, is my daughter safe with you?"

The Doctor just stared at the phone in shock, a blank sort of shock.

It hurt Able to see The Doctor looking so empty, "Tell me Jackie, is your daughter always safe with you? Last time I checked, you don't need to be going on any grand adventures though time and space to die – and if you were to get hurt, when on Earth it's so meaningless. Out there, with The Doctor, you get to see things, experience things that nearly no one else in this century ever will. Passing something like that up just because there is a small increase in the odds someone will get hurt... It's plain insanity. A cowardly thing to do, and my Lover, my Rosie Tyler, isn't a coward like that."

The second the words had left Able, he was shocked by just how passionate they were. The ginger wasn't even sure if they were for Rose either, because in some way, a lot of those felt like they were for The Doctor.

A new connection made, and Able hadn't even noticed it, nor did he notice the profound looks he was getting from both Rose, and The Doctor, both grateful for the interruption and words spoken.

"Ahem..." Mickey interrupted awkwardly, "We're in."

The Doctor snapped his eyes away from Able, and turned toward the phone on the table once more, "Right then, on the left there should be a tab or an icon that looks like little circles, you've got to click on that."

Clicking was heard, even as Mickey asked, "What is it?"

"The Slitheen have got a spaceship in the North Sea and it's transmitting that particular signal, now please hush up and let me work out what it's saying." Silence reined for a moment, The Doctor's brows were furrowed in concentration, "It's the same sort of message."

"Not a language, or the TARDIS would have translated it for us." Able observed, listening to the message himself, "You know what it says, The Doctor?"

"No, it's on some sort of loop though, keeps repeating itself."

Before farther theorizing could be done, a doorbell was heard from the other side of the phone, The Doctor snapped at the interruption, but Mickey quickly defended, "That's not me. Go see who it is, Jackie."

"It's three o'clock in the morning." The room could hear the woman grumble.

"Wait! Don't do it. Think about it for a second, these Slitheen are in the government and they could probably look us up, never mind the potential to trace Mickey's computer – They were already looking for you before you went to Mick's place, logically speaking the person at the door will probably be –" Able rushed to explain, but Jackie was quicker.

"I looked out the window, it's one of them, the Slickereen!"

"You got to block the door." The Doctor instructed, ignoring Rose's frantic cries for her mother to get out of there, "Mickey, we need that signal."

"Are you kidding! They have got to get out!" Rose said, looking horrified at the phone, worried for her mother and boyfriend.

"It's unmasking, oh my god it's going to kill us." Mickey exclaimed, sounding horribly panicked.

Harriet turned toward the Doctor, "There's got to be some way of stopping them, some weakness! You're meant to the expert, think of something!"

"I'm trying." The Doctor hissed out, focusing his concentration

Mickey then did something that surprised and endured himself to Able greatly, when he said, "I'll take it on, Jackie, you just run! Don't look back, just run!"

The sound of a doo being broken into splinters erupted through the phone, sending Rose into hysterics.

"Right! IF we are going to find their weakness, we need to find out where they're from, which planet. So, judging by their face and shape, it narrows it down to five thousand planets within graveling distance. What do we know, give me information!" The Doctor exclaimed, pacing around

"They're green." Rose stated.

"Yep, narrows it down." The Doctor answered.

"Good sense of smell."

"Narrows it down."

"Not just good, they can smell pheromones in the air. They blink left and right as opposed to up and down. The way their eyes evolved hints toward their planet being either consistently light or constantly dark. They have the technology to drive here, and they genetically spliced the pig. They wouldn't have come here without knowing something was here, meaning they could study our planet from theirs. Resistant enough to the electricity of the I.D's." Able rushed out with all the observations he'd made thus far, "They were scared about the possibility of fire. Sight not that good, they couldn't see through the extinguisher's powder. They talked about or alluded to eating humans."

"Twenty planets left." The Doctor announced as Able's string of observations stopped.

"They hunt like it's a ritual." Rose provided.

"Wait a second!" Harriet chimed in, "Did you notice, when they farted, it doesn't just smell like a fart – pardon my language – it something else, it's more like..."

"Bad breath!" Rose finished.

"Calcium decay!" Both The Doctor and Able announced, just the Doctor finished off with, "Now that narrows it down!"

"All these things put together narrows it down to one planet! Raxacoricofallapatorius!" The Doctor exclaimed, getting excited, before turning back to the phone, "Get into the kitchen. When there is calcium, compression fields, ascetic acid, you need vinegar!"

"Like Hannibal!" Harriet referenced, excitement clear on her face.

"Just like Hannibal. Mickey, do you got any vinegar?" The Doctor asked.

"How should I know?" Mick asked, sounding stupid as always. It was one step forward, two steps back with that guy.

"Cupboard by the sink, middle shelf." Rose spoke her input, sounding incredibly worried.

Jackie was the one that seemed to be at the shelve, because she suddenly asked what they needed.

"Just anything with vinegar would work." The Doctor said, sounding impatient.

"Pickled onions! Pickled eggs!" Jackie exclaimed, and the room could hear her banging around in the cupboards, it sounded like she was opening them up and putting them into something, although the quality wasn't the best. You could hear the banging at the door, before it broke. There was a splashing sound, before a rather incredibly pop.

The Doctor's face screwed up in mild disgust, Able quickly following suit at just the thought, "You kiss this man?"

Somehow that came before the thought of the two being safe.

Alcohol all around though, as the lot of them faced a bit of relief. The clue in regards to where they were from was undoubtedly to be a huge help in resolving the situation. That was beside the fact that they had just saved two lives which were rather important to someone in their little group.

Able downed his alcohol like a shot, Rose and Harriet sipped at it, but The Doctor, he rather dramatically choked it down.

"Guys! Listen to this." Mickey said.

_"Our inspectors have searched the sky above our heads, and they have found massive weapons of destruction, capable of being deployed within 45 seconds. Our technicians can baffle the alien probes, but not for long. We are facing extinction, unless we can strike first. The United Kingdom stands directly beneath the belly of the mother ship. I beg of the United Nations, pass an emergency resolution. Give us the access codes. A nuclear strike at the heart of the beast is our only change of survival. Because, from this moment on, it is my solemn duty to inform you that planet Earth itself is at war."_

"He's making it up. There's no weapons up there." The Doctor stated, looking angry, "There's no threat, he just invented it."

"They can't just take his word for it. They'll have to scan themselves, not to mention the logical fallacies that are presented. How can there be such advanced weapons and space craft, but our technicians actually be able to 'battle' the technology. It doesn't make any sense, surely we aren't that stupid."

"All the alien experts are dead." The Doctor stated, suddenly understanding the plan far better, "The U.N. will have to allow it because anyone that was an expert on these things is now dead. That's why the Slitheen created the spectacle. It panics you lot, takes the experts out, and forces the U.N into a decision, because humans lash out when scared."

The Doctor suddenly walked over to the wall, opening it up to show several Slitheen there, along with one still in their human suit, "So that's it, isn't it. You get the codes, release the missiles, but not into space. After all, there's nothing there. Instead you attack every other country on Earth, and they retaliate as is human nature, and World War Three begins and ends with the whole planet getting nuked – Along with all the humans dying out."

The smug looking Slitheen in their human suit gave a dirty little smirk, enough to make Able want to shiver and jump into the shower from the sheer grime of it, "We get to sit through it safe in our spaceship, waiting on the sidelines. Not crashed of course, just parked."

"It's always about money, so how does this make you a single credit?" Able asked, his eyes narrowed onto the smug gaggle of green-skinned bastards.

"Sale of the century. If we reduce the Earth to molten slag, radioactive molten slag, then we can sell it. Chunks of Earth, with the capability of powering every cheaply made ship out there. You see, it's a recession out there, and people are buying cheap. This rock is about to become raw fuel."

"We'll stop you." The Doctor stated.

"What, you and your human sidekicks, locked away in a little box?" All of the Slitheen gaggle started to, well, gaggle. Their laughter was thick with their smug intent.

"Yes, us."

As The Doctor announced that, the steel doors and shutters closed again right in their face, and the last those Slitheen saw of the quad was glaring, or heavy set eyes.

...

...

...

Able started thinking, but his brain was going in a million directions at once. In that moment, he wished he could see into his own timeline as he had before – He could come up with the solution to this mess that would allow for them to all come out of this alive. Yet, there was nothing. Apparently the only good thing that came out of being The Human Rift was the fact you couldn't die very efficiently.

"There's a way out." The Doctor suddenly stated, "There's always been a way out."

Somehow, Able knew that didn't bode well.

"Then why haven't we used it?" Rose asked, she sounded pretty worried herself, having got to know The Doctor so well.

The Doctor went over to the phone that was still placed on the table, his voice heavy with intent, "Because I can't guarantee that Rose or Able will be safe."

"Don't you dare, whatever it is, don't you dare." With the strong conviction that only a mother could have, Jackie pleaded.

"That's the thing, at this point, if I don't dare, than everybody dies."

"Do it." Rose stated.

"Yo don't even know what it is, but you'll just let me?" The Doctor asked, shocked by the faith the little human seemed to have in him.

"Yeah."

"Please, Doctor, they are just kids really, they have a lot of potential." Jackie begged. Able was rather shocked at this, he hadn't know Jackie felt so much for him. Although perhaps he should have expected it – He'd been a companion to Rose for a good eight years now.

"Do you think I don't know that? This is my life Jackie Tylor. It's not fun, or smart, it's usually just me standing up and making decisions when no one else can, or will." The Doctor had a despondent, forlorn tone to his voice.

"Jackie you have to understand. Four lives, or even millions of lives, they can, and should be sacrificed if it means saving billions." Able explained, wondering how many times he'd have to do this in the future.

Then, he wondered if he even had the right to say that. After all, considering the electricity incident, the chances were with him. It could very well be that nothing would happen to Able simply because he was The Human Rift, now. The side effects were no clear, but one was shown earlier. The gingers cells would flip backward in time to save themselves if they needed to. Maybe this was a limited ability, that didn't change the fact that out of everyone here besides possibly The Doctor, he was the most likely to live.

Live on, when Rosie Tyler was dead.

"This isn't your decision, Doctor." Harriet interrupted, "It's mine."

Able fought the urge to retort the woman. It wasn't her decision, she wasn't the only person in this room – It was their lives at stake! Why did Harriet think that just because she was a politician she had an opinion that inherently weighed more than the other people in the room. It reminded Able a great deal of the Gwyneth situation.

"Who the hell are you?" Jackie asked.

"Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North. The only elected representative in this room, chosen by the people, for the people. On behalf of those people, I command you to do it." She announced.

Able hadn't voted for Harriet, and really what gave her the right... Still, her's was the logical decision, and argument on it would only prolong things. Plus, The Doctor was looking as though a weight was lifted off of his chest, as he reached forward for the protocols.

"Use the buffalo password, it overrides everything." The Doctor instructed Mickey.

"What's going on?" Jackie asked, sounding lost.

"Hacking into the Royal Navy. Well, we're in, and here it is. HMS Taurean, Trafalgar Class submarine, ten miles off the coast of Plymouth." Mickey informed.

"Right, select a missile."

"We can't go nuclear, we don't have the defense codes." Mickey stated, confused.

"Thank the universe you people don't have the codes. First My Lover, now you? Why does everyone want to blow each other up with dirty bombs all of the sudden." Able said, mostly to himself.

"We don't need it, all we need is an ordinary missile. What's the first category?" The Doctor asked, focused on nothing more than the situation at hand, not even giving Able a cheeky look for his comment, as he usually would have.

"Sub harpoon, UGM-84A, it says."

"That's the one, select it. Now, Mickey the Idiot, the world is in your hands. Fire." The Doctor instructed, and Able felt something, an urge come over him.

"Mickey, you did good, mate." Able whispered into the phone, then went on to pretend it never happened, and brushed his shoulder to The Doctor's.

Immediately, their minds touched. Able was confident in the plan, worried about his friend, worried for his life, but also weirdly sure that he would live. The Doctor seemed full of sympathy, worry, and he even seemed to be regretful in that moment. Able kept the connection open, needing it, and The Doctor – Well – He didn't pull away.

"How strong are these?" Harriet asked, motioning toward the walls.

The Doctor just frowned, "Not strong enough. Build for short-range attacks, nothing like this."

"All right then, since you all seem pretty resigned, I'm the one that get's to make the decision. Strange, when two genies are in the room, they seem to be unable to rely on common sense. We are going to ride this out." Rose stated, her voice strong as she walked toward the cupboard where they had placed Indra and the other bodies, "It's like an Earthquake, you can survive them by standing under a door frame. This cupboard is so small, therefore it's strong. Now let's get in here!"

Able could feel both his and The Doctor's combined feeling of admiration mixing together, so tightly knit that they could have been the same person, and they strode forward, shoulders touching. Once they were close, Able gave Rose a kiss on the forehead, "Oh you brilliant girl, I always knew this creative, wonderful min would save my life."

The smile Able got warmed his heart more than any comfort he'd taken from his neighbors.

All of them started to take the unnecessary things out of the cupboard, The Doctor and Able separating eventually as the Time Lord was needed to continue talking Mickey through things.

"It's on radar, counter defense 556." Mickey announced, and he sounded horrible, guilty. In essence he was killing his girlfriend to save the entire world. A tragic story that he'd probably never be able to tell anyone.

"Stop them intercepting."

"I'm doing it now." Mickey stated.

"Good boy." The Doctor said, sounding proud. It seemed that he was starting to like Mickey as well tragic, although Able supposed his plans to get Rose and The Doctor together didn't matter much, since in all likelihood they would be dying in a few moments.

"556 neutralized."

Everyone stood in the cupboard, pressed against one another, and Able without thought reached out for the now familiar mind of The Doctor, and the man was feeling so intensely at the moment that Able almost wanted to pull always, but he couldn't, because he needed it, they both needed it, comfort, knowing, familiarity, bravery, and amazement toward The Doctor were sent over, and the man sent back so much warmth that Able thought his mind blacked out, and the connection in that moment was every bit as strong as the one that Able had with The Original Rift, different, but strong.

Then shaking, a noise louder than anything Able had heard in his life, and pain as they were shaken around inside the cupboard.

_SNAP, PAIN_

Able could feel his arm break, it felt like it had shattered to pieces. However, the second the pain was there, the next there was another snap, and the pain was gone. Able could feel the cells pushing themselves back in time, and he felt tired, so tired.

The world was still.

The Doctor got up and kicked the door open. Able stumbled out without regard to the others, and promptly threw up against their life saving box. He felt sick, and tired, and the fear in knowing his life was forever changed – There wasn't any denying it now. Once is a coincidence, twice is a fact, and the fact was that Able was self healing himself. Now that he wasn't in denial so much, now that he had to face up to it, every time he felt a cell die, and he could feel them, each of them, they went back, and he started right back where he was.

In other words, there was no aging of his body.

Able didn't know which thing made him sick, the thought, or the horrible experience being bumped around in the box had presented.

"Made in Britain." Able found hear Harriet say, before he felt Rose hugging his side, and The Doctor's hand on his shoulder, before there was a comforting press against minds – In which Able didn't send any feelings, or talk, he just curled against the comfort the familiar mind provided.

"Oh my god, are you alright?"

"Harriet Jones, MP, Flydale North. I want you to contact the U.N. immediately and tell the ambassadors that the crisis has been averted, and that they can step down." Harriet ordered, "Go on, tell the news."

"Yes, Madam."

"Someone's got a good job ahead of them, sorting all of this out. Good lord, we don't even have ourselves a Prime Minister." She spoke, looking a bit worried

"Maybe you should have a go." The Doctor stated, pulling away from his companions to face the Politian, a familiar maniacal smile flourishing on his face.

"Me? Ha. I'm only a back-bencher."

"I'd vote for you." Rose stated, Able looked up toward the sky, knowing damn well that no, he wouldn't vote for her. Yet the woman would still think she had come control over his fate – The ginger really didn't like Harriet Jones.

"Now don't be silly. Look, I'd better go and see if I can help them." Harriet was off, leaving a grinning Doctor watching her.

"I thought I knew her name. Harriet Jones, future Prime Minister, she was will be elected for three successive terms. The architect of Britain's Golden Age."

Rose went to her mother's house a moment later. Probably good, to let the woman know her daughter was still alive. This left both Able and The Doctor on the street to themselves, The Doctor was bouncing on his toes, a large smile on his face, hands in his pockets, "To the TARDIS?"

Able gave the most genuine grin he'd managed for the past few days, and it felt real, it felt like healing, it felt like no matter what happened, what he became, he'd be okay.

"Sounds about right. Besides, we've got to have you take a look at me, the weirdest things have happened..." Able trailed off, and The Doctor looked even more excited than before.

"Fascinating."

...

...

...

The Doctor had immediately went to the main console and shut down the broadcast the Slitheen were using, before turning toward Able and pulling out his sonic, he waved it over the ginger, who leaned back against the console. Then, when The Doctor got results, he switched modes and did it again, his eyes glowing with awe.

"Fascinating, you really are, The Able. Of course, I knew, I could feel it within my senses, but to see the effect that it has on you, to see your cells themselves dying before resetting themselves, I've never seen anything so amazing."

Moments later, the two were in Able's grey room, Able laying on his bed reading one of the text books he'd gotten from the library as The Doctor brought large amounts of equipment into the gingers room, running test after test, and if there was ever any doubt that the man was a scientist at heart, it would have been quickly patched from the way he was acting.

"When are you going to start construction on your sonic?" The Doctor asked, making small talk as he checked Able's heart rate once more.

Able looked up from the book and thought the answer over, "Actually, soon. The TARDIS supplied everything I needed, sweetheart that she is. I didn't even notice at first, but the stuff has been on my desk ever since the Original Rift dying. They were friends, I think."

"I can't wait to see what an impossible ape like you comes up with." The Doctor half-joked, although he was genuinely interested in knowing Able's construction plan.

Able gave The Doctor a little coy smile, "You'll have to just wait and see. Now, what have you found, The Doctor?"

"It's amazing real, ever cell, every time one of them goes to die, it reboots its own timeline. However, the same thing is happening the opposite. Every time a cell goes to split itself, it's stop, and it goes back in its own timeline. From what I can tell, your injuries that were healed quickly are a result of this fascinating phenomena. Having said that, the ability didn't stop, but it did exhaust you. I would theorize that if something were to happen that caused your death, or repeated deaths, well, honestly I have no idea what would happen, but most likely you would end up passing out. It seems to burn calories primarily, but since your cells regenerate, when you run out of calories there is no telling what would actually happen. You could go into coma – So, don't go dying anytime soon, The Able. For some unexplainable reason, I like having you around." The Doctor explained, everything came out in a rush, not even taking a breath.

"Well, I haven't planned on dying anytime soon. Something's are better not to test I should think." Able paused for a second, "Been a busy few days, The Doctor. I don't suppose we could take a break from leaving the TARDIS for awhile, maybe just go to a few sights?"

The Doctor was grinning from ear to ear, "I know just the thing, let's call up Rose, shall we?"

A few minutes later, The Doctor was back in Able's room with a phone, and was dialing her cell phone number, "Hello Rose, just finished stopping the Slitheen's broadcast and giving The Able here a checkup. We were thinking it might be time to leave in a few hours."

There was a pause as Rose spoke, although Able couldn't hear any of it.

"Good! Put er on a slow heat and let her simmer."

Pause again, although he did seem a little bit disgusted at whatever was being mentioned, "I don't do that... Not to me it isn't... Well, she's not mine!"

Suddenly, The Doctor's eyes brightened, and whatever was bothering him faded, "Well, you can stay there if you want, but right now... Right now there is this plasma storm brewing in the horse head nebula." His voice was utterly captivating, transfixing, "Fires are burning ten million miles wide, and I could fly the TARDIS right into the heart of it all, before riding the shock wave all the way out – Hurtling across the sky and ending up anywhere...It's your choice."

Able couldn't help the smirk that crossed his lips, because he recognized that tone, never used like that, but he knew it, "You just seduced her, oh you handsome Time Lord, you. Have a thing for my dear blonde?"

The Doctor looked taken back, "Pfft, no I haven't."

"You  _seduced_  her into coming to the TARDIS, you used a deep bedroom voice, I knew one when I hear one and I just heard one, an extremely attractive one by the way." Able spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Thank you!" The Doctor said, before realizing that he sort of just agreed to the entire statement, and just kind of gave up and left the room.

Able the best wingman in the world strikes again! Somehow though, the feeling was hollow. It wasn't because of what he'd been through, and yes the ginger was still broken because of that, but it was healing. This was something completely different, and Able hadn't found himself feeling such a thing before, not since the first time he'd seen Mickey and Rose together.

Jealousy.

The first time Able had seen Rose together with Mickey was a few months after they had broken up, or rather, Able broke up with Rose because of the fact he couldn't allow himself to be completely honest with her. Rose had accepted it gracefully, since then they had been friends, but the sharp sticks of jealousy attacked when Mickey was first introduced.

Able was feeling that toward  _Rose Tyler_  because of  _The Doctor_  and it certainly didn't take him too long to realize just how deep into the shits he'd gotten.

**R &R**

**What do you guys think of Able's situation thus far?**

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:**  I don't own anything that I've written. Yep, that's right, I own not even one iota of the below work.

 **Summary:**  Able is an actual doctor, and so, so much more. We all know 'The Doctor' does have a pendent for running into impossible things - and if Able was anything, he was an impossible thing. (A twist on the usual OC and The Doctor formula has original ideas and later on, canon divergence. M/M)

 **Warnings:**  This is a Doctor Who fic, so I doubt any of the readers will turn down reading this just because it's slash. After all, we have the canon Jack Harkness. (Who deserves a warning all on his own.) Canon typical violence, language, and later on there will probably be more explicit sexual content.

 **Authour Note:**  There is a big lump of the beginning of this chapter without any dialogue, just Able talking about some of the adventures and figuring out his sonic and how to/how he is making it. A lot of this was researched in the wiki, and not referenced from the show which means there is old who in there, and I haven't extensively watched old who so if I made some mistakes I apologize. I had been going to, but then Netflix took Doctor Who off its lists.

We get introduced to a lot of what makes Able a more balanced character. Sure, he's cool and he's smart, hell he's got super powers now. Sure, he's a bit broken inside, but what are his faults. This chapter highlights them well. You have to wonder after all, if there is such a thing as too open-minded, perhaps too curious. In addition, I've once again highlighted Able's anger problem in relation to those he cares about. This is one of my favourite episodes, so I hope I did it justice in my changes, and just everything I've done. Seeing the difference between first chapter Able and this Able must be a bit striking, but it's all in character I assure you.

This chapter is quite dark, I won't add extra warnings because I'm not quite sure it's needed. It is cannon typical to see something like this, but it's just... Darker than the original episode.

On another note, the next season is airing in a bit. GG guys.

**Chapter Seven: The Last Dalek**

...

_Able the best wingman in the world strikes again! Somehow though, the feeling was hollow. It wasn't because of what he'd been through, and yes the ginger was still broken because of that, but it was healing. This was something completely different, and Able hadn't found himself feeling such a thing before, not since the first time he'd seen Mickey and Rose together._

_Jealousy._

_The first time Able had seen Rose together with Mickey was a few months after they had broken up, or rather, Able broke up with Rose because of the fact he couldn't allow himself to be completely honest with her. Rose had accepted it gracefully, since then they had been friends, but the sharp sticks of jealousy attacked when Mickey was first introduced._

_Able was feeling that toward Rose Tyler because of The Doctor and it certainly didn't take him too long to realize just how deep into the shits he'd gotten._

...

The next few months spent in the TARDIS had been utterly breathtaking and wondrous in ways that words wouldn't really begin to express – Although Able tried.

The Doctor had taken them to places that telescopes could only hope to catch a glimpse of. Beautiful, miraculous sights that Able had sat at the door of the TARDIS just looking at them, hours on end, just staring at the beauty the Universe contained. All of the most beautiful nebula, ones that Able knew about first, such as the Orion, Eskimo, Helix, Ring, Carina, and Butterfly Nebula, but after that, even more breathtaking sights, nebula that human eyes had never seen before. They watched stars go super nova, and each time was different and striking in a way that the one before hadn't been. Planets themselves, one particular planet in Galaxy M104 made entirely of see-through crystal, which glittered like nothing Able had ever conceived, light refracting in millions of different directions. It was so bewitching to look at, that the ginger had never wanted to look away.

When they weren't 'sightseeing', Able was in his room reading, or working on his sonic.

When geeky children are young, a good majority of them think about just how freaking awesome it would be to have some sort of super watch.

Able was always one to want his dreams to come true, and now he had the capability to make it happen.

The TARDIS had given him a type of green crystal with properties similar to the metebelis crystals of Metebelis III. The setting of the watch was going to be rather simple – if everything went according to the blue prints. First Able used a hollowed out 4cm (AN: About 1 and a half inches) wide metal bracelet, fitted to Able's wrist with a part out of the top cut out about 2 and ½ cm thick for the face of the 'clock'. The thickness of the watch and band coming in at around ½ cm.

The face of the watch looked rather normal, the difference being that the hands of the clock were attached to the metebelis-like crystal, the majority of which was hiding in the hallow band, connected to several wires and circuits which ran through the newly invented piece of technology. The green-glowing crystal did make the watches face look rather futuristic.

Aesthetically pleasing, but next came the adding of different abilities to the sonic watch. The organization of which was organized by type, then number, and could be changed via the 'winding dial' on the watch. Pull out once for the letter, twice to switch numbers.

A-Type for Security

B-Type for Medical/Diagnostic

C-Type for Technology

D-Type for Amplification

E-Type for Utility

It was worth noting that each setting was something in its own. In other words, The Doctor who used his sonic for almost anything? That was a creation that he made and accumulated through his 900-whatever planet years. A tool comprised of a lot of hard work. Able's wouldn't amount of much comparatively for quite some time. Still, he added some basic things in.

A-1: Destabilizing basic security systems A-2: Destroying security cameras A-3: Fusing metal locks shut

B-1: Scanning human body for pheromone imbalances B-2: Scanning human body for abnormalities not found on Earth

C-1: Hacking basic setting

D-1: Amplification of sound

E-1: Lock picking E-2: Reconnection of wires E-3: Lighting a fire E-4: Screwing in screws (Just to be a sassy shit.)

The making of a sonic anything seemed to be an ongoing process – Although Able was sure The Doctor would help him advance, Able wanted to do it all himself, he wanted his watch to be indicative of him and his personality, as The Doctor's sonic was of himself.

It was kind of like letting someone go through your Internet History in a weird way, you just don't allow it.

All of that aside, Able was getting a lot of appreciation from his dear Rosie Tyler as of late. In that, Able was being the best wingman there had ever been. When all three of them were in a room together, Able would always find a reason to leave. It was working too, Able could see them getting closer, their body language indicative of such. Rose would lingeringly touch The Doctor, and the Time Lord allowed it, sometimes almost leaned into it. Sometimes The Doctor got a softer look in his eyes when he looked at Rosie as well. Just small things, like how when they stood next to each other, they did so closer than conventional, leaned closer when they were talking, tilted themselves toward the other.

Able really was the best wingman, and it sort of started to shred him.

He hadn't known the extent to which he liked The Doctor until after he started truly getting into his wingman actions. Able hadn't felt this attracted to someone else – Ever. The ginger had been with a lot of different people, some objectively better looking than The Doctor, but nothing, nothing compared to that mans mind, his morals, his personality, and just his atmosphere in everything he did. Maybe it was a bit of Able reflective his awe at the vast Universe toward The Doctor, but somehow Able knew he couldn't deny himself like that. He hadn't before, he wasn't about to start now.

However, Able didn't do anything.

Normally that wouldn't sound like Able. As far as sexuality and likened things, Able went for what he wanted, and usually he got it. Those times however, didn't include one thing. Rosie Tyler – The only person in the Universe that Able loved, no matter what type of love it was.

The blue-eyed male didn't know just how much he was willing to sacrifice for his blonde, but now that he knew, it was both horrifying and wonderful, and Able didn't want to change, so he didn't. He allowed The Doctor to be pulled away from him, to destroy any chance of a relationship with the man.

For Rosie Tyler.

...

...

...

"Well, this certainly doesn't look like the Pillars of Creation." Able commented as the trio got out of the TARDIS which was had seemingly parked itself in some sort of dark building.

"I was itching for something other than sightseeing, really." Rose stated with an excited smile, "So, Doctor, where are we?"

Able tried his best not to show his utter revulsion at the fact Rose was able to throw aside the amazing things they had seen as simple 'sightseeing' because really... The description was accurate, but the feeling just wasn't there.  _They watched_   _stars go super-nova_  it wasn't a trip to the Grand Canyon.

"Earth, Utah, North America, and we're about half a mile underground. Seems that there is some kind of signal drawing the TARDIS off course emanating from somewhere in this building." The Doctor said, looking around.

"When are we?"

"2012." The Doctor replied.

"What sort of technology or people in 2012 could create something which would send your TARDIS off course?" Able asked, suddenly looking a little bit worried.

Before The Doctor could respond, the lights flickered on, and the extent of the room was shown. It was clearly some sort of collection, or museum of sorts. Yet, the year was 2012, and Able couldn't help but feel like something wasn't quite right. Did something big happen in the last few years that had humans suddenly realizing the truth? Despite the fact that as a race, the majority simply weren't ready? The ginger doubted that.

"Blimey, it's like a great big museum."

Able clicked his tongue in thought, "I think it's more like a collection – Non-terrestrial species still aren't recognized as being real by the majority."

They started to look into the glass boxes, The Doctor in particular looked almost put out by what was going on, "Someone's got a dangerous hobby, something that they must have spent a fortune on. We've got chucks of meteorite, moon dust, a piece of the Rosewell spaceship, milometer to be exact, and I'm sure this isn't all of it."

"Spot anything capable of making the signal?" Able asked, pushing against The Doctor's shoulder and sending the man the worry he'd been feeling – To which The Doctor returned his understanding of the worry, and some soothing emotions.

"Nothing yet..."

"That's a bit of Slitheen, it's been stuffed!" Rose suddenly exclaimed in fascination.

Able walked over and studied it, "Probably just a piece of it left over from that bomb. This is out of the realm of just paying money for something though – Undoubtedly this had to have gotten into this collection after it was in the governments hands. We're talking millions, if not billions of dollars, or perhaps blackmail of some sort... Also, they are called Raxacoricofallapatorian."

The Doctor seemed to notice something of particular interest, as he gravitated toward it in a sort of horrified fascination, "Oh, would you look at that..."

"What is it?" Rose asked.

"An old friend of mine, well, enemy. The stuff of nightmares reduced to an exhibit." The Doctor paused for a second, Able could see why that thought could be a mix of amazing and horrifying, "I'm getting old."

"It seems rather dead, can't be where the signal is coming from." Able stated, although he subconsciously dwindled with his sonic watch, wondering if he should prioritize making a setting which could scan electronics for activity.

"That's quite correct, stone dead it is. Besides, the signal is reaching out, calling for help... Those things wouldn't do something like that." The Doctor explained, looking rather distressed at the last part. Able thought to go closer to The Doctor, to press their minds together, to comfort him.

Instead, Rose was there, placing a hand on his shoulder, earning a startled look at first, which then faded into a gentle smile.

Able made sure to withhold the urge to wince horribly at this. Instead he just took a step back, forgetting there were items on both sides, and knocking the glass on the podium. An alarm sounded immediately after, echoing through the large warehouse like museum, and soldiers appeared within seconds.

"If someone's collecting aliens, you're Exhibit-A." Rose stated, fear in her voice.

Apparently forgetting all about the fact that Able hated the word she used. Never mind the fact she rather mindlessly just throw out the fact he was not human when surrounded by shoulders... Instead of berating her, he grabbed her hand and squeezed, trying to comfort her in the moment of fear. He didn't let her hand go, either. Just held on, even as a business woman walked in, her heels clanking, resounding through the room, and looked at the trio.

A ginger haired woman with curly hair. Her name was Diana Goddard, and Able couldn't look her in the eyes, because he knew who she was, knew better than anyone in that room. She was a cold being, someone willing to throw away their own child. Someone that probably wouldn't recognize their own child if they were placed in front of her, the ruthless coldblooded...

"Let's go intruders, the Boss will see you now." She had a cool, professional smile painted onto her lips, and Able had never wanted to hit someone as much as he wanted to slap that expression off of her face.

At least she didn't recognize him as he predicted – Able wouldn't have been in control of himself had she known.

They followed the female ginger through the halls and into a large office, it fit all of the trio along with several soldiers and the 'boss' comfortably. Behind the desk was an older man, he had the smug and rich air practically pouring off of him, and he was taking to a relatively attractive young man that seemed to be holding an object that wasn't from Earth, unless something had changed drastically in the last few years.

"What does it do?" The boss asked, placing his paws all over the object, despite not knowing anything about it, or wondering if it was delicate.

The young man answered quickly, "Well, those tubes on the side seem to channel something, perhaps a type of fuel."

Able might have felt the urge to hide his sonic watch, had the idiots in the room seemed able to put together what a non-Earth device might do, work, or look like.

"I really wouldn't hold it like that." The Doctor spoke, a manically amused look breaking across his face.

 _Diana_  snapped at him, her usually pretty face twisting in a familiar sort of jealous fury, "Shut it!"

"Maybe don't tell one of the only people in this room that know what the hell they're doing to shut up." Able spoke in a drawling sort of tone, a smug tone that indicated a sort of ' _I'm smarter than you_ ' that had both of the male gingers companions look at him with surprise, and Rose squeezing his hand in worry.

The young male seemed to take this seriously, "Is it dangerous?"

"No, it just looks silly." The Doctor ruthlessly stated, behind holding out a hand for the object, ignoring the guns that waved around him. The boss just waved the guns away and stared at The Doctor for a moment, before handing him the object with curiosity plain in his eyes.

"You just need to be a bit... Delicate." The Doctor said, before softly brushing his finger along the instrument, it made a noise that was vaguely reminiscent of some human instrument that Able forgot the name of.

The Boss seemed quite surprised, "It's a musical instrument."

"And it's a long way from home." The Doctor stated, looking down at the object softly.

It occurred to Able that it might not actually be an instrument, from the way The Doctor was looking at it, treating it, it could very well be alive, or sentient in some way. Not really surprising considering there were endless possibilities in this Universe.

The Boss grabbed it back rather unceremoniously, starting playing it. Say what you would of the man's overall demeanor, and his very American like of guns apparently, he was a quick learner. It took less than a minute for him to start playing it rather similar to The Doctor.

"Very good," The Doctor stated with his approval clear in his voice, "Quite the expert."

The Boss just tossed it aside without a care, "As are you."

Able could feel himself getting frustrated, not angry quite yet, not at that man, but without a doubt he was on the edge. Likely because of the ginger female beside him, but that wasn't the current problem. The Doctor looked rather distressed as well, staring at the fallen 'instrument'

"What do you want for it?" Able heard himself ask.

The Boss gave a raised eyebrow, "More than you can afford."

"I might surprise you, everyone has a number, what's yours in this case." Able spoke, regarding the man coldly, ignoring the surprised looks he was getting from his companions once again, though The Doctor look suitably grateful. The Time Lord seemed to recognize that Able realized the truth of the 'instrument'.

"I'm a good business man, you pay me double what I bought it for. An instrument isn't worth much to me after all." He stated uncaringly, raising a hand flippantly.

"1,600,000 dollars then, give me your account and I'll wire you the money." Able stated simply enough.

Some people might wonder, Able, where do you get that kind of money. Then again, Able got a comfortable living form working at the University and turning in his research. On top of that, there were his published theories, which sold rather well considering he was one of the top physicist in the world. Finally, there was the simplest answer of them all, Able was smart enough to know that when you make money, you invest it. At this point in time, considering his time traveling status, Able was sure he had even more money than he would have had if he didn't leave.

A few moments later, Able was using the bosses computer to transfer the funds, and placing the instrument in his pocket.

"Pleasure doing business with idiots, as always." The Boss stated, rather happy to get double his investment on such a, to him, useless object.

...

...

...

Business proceedings done, The Doctor cut in with his usual bluntness, "I'm The Doctor, who are you exactly?"

"As if you don't know, we're hidden away with the most valuable collection on this planet, and you think I'll believe you stumbled upon it by some mistake?" The Boss said, scoffing.

The Doctor just frowned, "That pretty much sums the situation up actually."

"The question is, how did you get down here. You and your little cat burglar accomplice, and the ginger who has money... Perhaps he helped you out. Though, you do seem to be quite the collect yourself, she's rather pretty."

The Doctor looked about ready to slug the man one, Rose looked about ready to snap as well, but Able was the one that opened his mouth first, "You best leave my dear Lover alone, besides, I'm the pretty one here. Just look at my eyes, you could stare into them for days."

He gave the Boss a rather cheeky smirk, a complete departure from his previous behavior, making the man stumble a bit.

"This is Mr. Henry van Statten." The young man spoke, his voice heavy with meaning, as though the trio was meant to know who he was.

"And who's he when he's at home?" Rose commented rather sarcastically, a smirk pulling across her lips.

"Mr. Statten owns the internet."

Rose scoffed, because if hanging around with Able for years of her life taught her anything, it was the fact that no one controls the internet, "Mhmm, pull the other one. No one owns the internet."

"Let's just keep the whole world thinking that way right kids?" Statten stated, rather than asked, giving a toothy grin.

"It's impossible." Able stated, drawing attention to himself, "It's literally impossible to control the internet. Maybe you could control a large part of it, the major parts, but never the whole thing. Countries wouldn't let you, and even if you could get them on board, the internet is too large and ever changing for one person to control. Maybe you can convince your little sycophant employees, but I'm not moronic enough to fall for something like that." As Able spoke of sycophant employees, he looked directly at  _Diana_  with unforgiving eyes.

The Doctor just watched with a large grin, he loved watching his companions tell people off, they were remarkably good at it. Normally he never had to step in himself – Which was a bit off-putting considering how much of a gab he had, but it was worth it. Time to step up to the plate though, and find out what was going on, because thus far they'd unveiled remarkably little information.

"So you're just about an expert in everything except the things in your museum. Seems like anything you don't understand, you simply lock up." The Doctor baited.

"You claim a greater knowledge." Statten stated.

"You've seen just how good I am, clearly in that I know more than you." The Doctor continued to bait.

"I captured you there, right next to the cage containing my only living specimen. Now tell me, Doctor, what exactly were you doing down there?" Statten interrogated, but from an new observes point of view, the little back and forth might have seemed like a battle of the egos, and perhaps it was, just a little bit.

"What is it?" The Doctor asked, masking the mild, true anger he started to grow at the thought of this man having some poor, innocent alien in his grasp, "Show me."

"You wanna see it?" Statten shot back.

"Blimey, you can smell the testosterone." Rose commented, looking a bit put out.

"Testosterone, maybe you're right, Lover, I just thought they were flirting... I mean listen to it, 'show me' 'you wanna see it?'"

His point was well made, joking as it was.

"Goddard, inform the cage that me, the Doctor with no name, and Doctor Able here are going down to the cage." Statten ordered, taking Able by surprise.

"Why me?"

"You are smarter than I anticipated, so that means I need to be smart enough to know not to let you out of my sight. Last thing I need is someone like you walking around here unsupervised." Statten explained, and Able's opinion of the man sky rocketed.

Statten then pointed toward the young man, "You, look after the girl. I can't trust you with someone intelligent... But I trust you can keep an close enough eye on the candy."

Finally, he turned to face The Doctor full on once more, "Let's go, Doctor, to see my pet."

...

...

...

 _What a crew they made_ , Able thought to himself as the group made their way down the the cage. Statten, Able, The Doctor,  _Diana Goddard_ , and a couple of armed guards. When they arrived, there was a man who was taking off a hazmat looking suit.

Able stared for a moment, speechless, eyes not seeing anything that was happening.

The Doctor did something that usually Able initiated, and with a brush of their shoulders, sent Able comforting emotions, bringing the ginger back to the present.

"We've tried everything. The creature has shielded itself but there's definite signs of life inside." Statten said, typing something into a console.

The Doctor frowned, "Inside? Inside what exactly?"

"Welcome back, sir. I've had to take the power down. The Metaltron is resting." One of the men who were wearing protective gear stated.

"Metaltron?" The Doctor questioned incredulously.

"Thought of it myself. Good, isn't it? Although I'm much prefer to find out it's real name." Statten spoke, rubbing his hands together.

"Oh Statten, you must be the most creative idiot in the room. Metaltron of all things..." Able whispered under his breath, loud enough for The Doctor to hear, although the man stayed impassive, Able knew him well enough to know when he was feeling amusement, and there had been a twinkle in those expressive eyes.

"Here, you'd better put these on. The last guy that touched it burst into flames."

The Doctor just stared at the human blankly, "I won't touch it then."

Goddard actually seemed to find that funny, Able found it interesting that she had enough heart left in her to find humor in anything.

"Go ahead, Doctor No-Name, Doctor Able, impress me."

Both The Doctor and Able stepped through the threshold and looked around the 'cage' with curiosity. There, on the opposite side of the room was a faint glow, and as they started to move closer to it, the doors behind them shut. Able decided to let The Doctor handle it, if it was just some misplaced and abused non-terrestrial than The Doctor would be a better person to meet, as they would have that in common.

"Look, I'm sorry about this situation. Mister Van Statten might think he's clever, but he's got nothing on us. I've come to help you, I'm The Doctor."

There was a flicker, "Doctor..." The computer generated voice spoke weakly.

After which, the atmosphere of the room quickly changed, and Able tensed up to match the suddenly horrified and afraid Doctor, "Impossible!"

More lights came on, showing the chained machine in the center of it all, The Doctor could feel his blood run cold at the sight, and he could only think of escaping, of running, taking his companions and getting far, far away from where they currently were. He ran up toward the door and started to bang on it, Able following after him without a second thought.

"Exterminate! Exterminate!" The pepper shaker said, Able could hear ever wobble in the tone, and suddenly for no reason, he felt more terrified for his life than ever before – Then he realized that, no. The ginger wasn't afraid for himself, he was afraid for The Doctor.

He was afraid for The Doctor just like he became afraid for Rose Tyler, and if he lived, he knew that such feelings did not mean a happy life for him.

"Statten if The Doctor somehow dies because you locked us in here, and I get out, you don't even want to know the hell which will be placed upon you." Able hissed out, without control of himself, just like he had been when he faced down Cassandra.

Maybe, just maybe, the reason Able didn't have a lot of connections is because of just how dangerous it was for him to make them, simply because of how far the ginger was willing to go for the people he cared about.

"Let us out!"

"Exterminate!" The alien cried out, and for once Able didn't mind the word alien, as he attempted desperately to reach The Doctor, "You are an enemy of the Daleks! You must be destroyed!"

It only took a few seconds until something occurred to The Doctor, "We aren't dead yet... It's not working." There was a pause before The Doctor gave out a half-crazed laugh, "Fantastic! Oh, absolutely fantastic! Powerless! Look at you, a great space dustbin, nothing to you. How does that feel?"

The Doctor stalked over to the Dalek, his eyes practically burning with the intensity of his feelings.

Able felt very out of place, if nothing else. The emotions that Able found feel in the air were The Doctors, and unlike usual when the ginger would need contact, he could practically swallow the air it was so thick with The Doctor's anger.

"Keep back!" The pepper spoke, it's voice mechanical, but somehow displaying fear, if Able was correct, and somehow that was weirdly intoxicating.

Or was that The Doctor.

Able forced his mental shields down, for the first time in months he intentionally blocked The Doctor out when they were connected, and The Doctor didn't even notice, not that they were connected, and not that it broke, he just glared at the pitiful creature before him.

"What for? What are you going to do to me, I mean, you can't kill. So, if you can't kill, than what good are you, Dalek What's the point of you, because you're nothing without that capability." The Doctor grinned, and it was full of blood and hate, and a raging fire that couldn't be put out.

"I am waiting for orders."

It occurred to Able just how one-sided this was. Able was open-minded, he loved seeing things from multiple perspectives and forming an opinion that best suited a true morality. Somehow, the treatment of this 'Dalek' didn't fit into that, but he didn't stop The Doctor either. Because the downfall in having such a wonderfully open-mind was that sometimes, sometimes it wasn't a good thing.

_'The Doctor knows what he's doing.'_

_'I know nothing about the Dalek, thus it probably deserves it.'_

_'Even if it's wrong, if The Doctor needs to do this, than whatever he needs is understandable and forgivable.'_

"Well you're never going to get any orders, not ever again." The Doctor spoke, a wide, ugly smile still present.

"I demand orders!"

"They're never going to come, you're entire race is dead, you've all burnt, all of you. Ten million ships on fire, and the entire Dalek race was wiped out in one second." The Doctor whispered it, as thought treasuring the thought.

"You lie!"

"I watched it happen. I was the one that made it happen." The Doctor revealed, and Able accepted it.

Able just accepted it just like he'd accept everything else about The Doctor, just like he'd accept just about anything someone he cared about did. What a despicable person Able was. The little back and forth meant nothing for Able's opinion, nothing...

"Oh, and I caught your little signal. Asking for help, you poor little thing... There's no one left to come and help you, and a Dalek wouldn't have helped you even if there was another."

"The Doctor, perhaps we should try to leave." Able asked evenly, knowing well that it was nothing more than a feeble attempt.

The Doctor was too caught up though, "I'm just having a bit of revenge, The Able, because I know what this little thing deserves. It deserves what it did to millions of other planets, Exterminate." As the world left The Doctor's mouth, his hand reached over and pulled a lever, and the Dalek screamed.

Able accepted.

"Have pity!"

"Why should I? You never did."

As the words came, guards came in and grabbed The Doctor and Able, restraining the, with typical American tactics. In other words, there were guns all around, and there was nothing either of them could do as they were escorted out of the room, despite The Doctor's struggles.

...

...

...

"The metal's just battle armour, the real Dalek is inside of it." The Doctor informed Statten as they all entered the lift. His voice was almost frantic, he wanted to get the Boss to understand just what sort of danger he was putting them in by just letting the thing hang around. The Doctor wanted to deal with the problem.

Able just accepted.

"What does it look like?"

"A nightmare, a mutation... The Dalek race was genetically engineered to have every emotion other than hate taken from them." The Doctor explained, his voice still trying to drive the point home.

It certainly made Able feel a bit less guilty for his acceptance.

"Genetically engineered by whom?"

"By a genius, Van Statten, a man who was king of his own little world where he was ruler. You'd like him, quite a bit alike." The Doctor stated dryly, making his mild distaste clear.

"It's been on Earth for years, why would it be a threat now? It's been moved to from private sales time and time again and there's never been an issue." Diana spoke, her tone just so mighty that Able grit his teeth hard enough for one to literally chip, before the cells regenerated themselves.

"I'm sorry  _Diana,_ I must have missed the part where you suddenly weren't human and knew things about non-terrestrial species." Able hissed out, despite his energy getting a mild zap from the healing.

The Doctor continued on, "If you did know anything, you'd know that thing was a threat the moment I entered that room. How did it get to Earth? Does anyone know?"

"Records say it came from the sky like a meteorite, and fell to Earth on the Ascension Islands. Burnt in its crater for three days before anybody could get near it and all that time it screamed, we'd believed it to have gone insane." Diana spoke.

Able looked at her mockingly once more, "Oh yes, and you are the picture of understanding in non-terrestrial psyche."

"Have we met before?" She turned toward Able with a cold smile.

Able just returned it, and they were equal, "Not in any meaningful way, I assure you. Although perhaps I have forgotten, you don't seem to be the most memorable person..."

She was, but Able certainly wouldn't give her that satisfaction.

"The Able, we have more pressing matters." The Doctor spoke, and Able thought for the first time, the Time Lord might have been angry with him. The male gingers mouth slammed shut not only because the words were true, but also just because it was The Doctor asking.

"Now that we have the spare keeping his mouth shut, you mentioned a war?" Goddard inquired.

Able fought himself, because that woman had no right, no right to speak to him that way. The ginger almost thought The Doctor might stand up for him . That moment never came, comparative to the Dalek, Able must have not mattered all that much.

"The Time War, the final battle between my people and the Dalek race."

"Yet, the two of you survived." Statten stated,

Both the time travelers were starting to get worried at this line of questioning. The Doctor especially, "No, just me. The Able is completely human."

"The Doctor and The Able... Just who do you think you're fooling? It must be a cultural thing. So, the Dalek isn't the only alien on Earth, now there is three. To be most specific, three very rare aliens, the last of their kinds. Although I wonder, The Able, your name isn't much of a title like The Doctor's... Is it short for something?"

The man was clearly mocking, and Able could have taken this chance to deny it all, like The Doctor's eyes seemed to be begging, but then, Able's curiosity was killing him. What would this man do, torture them like he had the Dalek? Able wouldn't allow The Doctor to go through that alone. Or perhaps they would just be interrogated, regardless Able wanted to be with The Doctor through it all, to help him if the man found himself unable to help himself, or if he was in need of comfort...

"The Enabler." Able stated, although with a hint of shame, because the name was true, and not exactly one to be proud of no matter how well it fit.

...

...

...

They had been separated, 'cages' right next to each other, and even at the second Able thought that, he could hear The Doctor screaming. Statten was in there with him, but Able, oh, Able got one particular female ginger. He was tied to a metal bed, arms above his head and legs attached to the bottom, tightly and unable to move. The male ginger was glad to see however, that despite the fact they pealed his shirt off, they left his watch.

His sonic watch.

"You hear those screams? The Doctor of yours is getting the most detailed scan known to man done on his system right now, and that's just level one. To save time, we're diving into level two – DNA." The woman said, her face just as cold as Able had always remembered it, "Sorry The Enabler, this is going to hurt."

The switch was flicked, and screams erupted from the previously silent man, Able lost contact with just how much time had passed, but no matter what physical pain he went through... Nothing compared to the emotional pain he'd just gotten through, pain that the woman in front of him started.

"Please Daddy!" Able yelled at the top of his lungs, knowing, just knowing that The Doctor could hear him through the walls in kind, and hoping that it would help the Time Lord.

It had helped Able, because he was laughing himself through the screams of pain.

"That's interesting... I'm not a scientist but I dabble, and your cells are literally regenerating even as the scan kills them off so quickly. Mister Van Statten is going to be pleased with this." The woman said, a manufactured smile pained.

Able laughed, "Of course you aren't a scientist, you aren't smart enough. I can pretty much guarantee that my IQ is at least fifty points higher than yours."  _Because it's the very IQ that you decided to throw me away because it was better than yours, you cold hearted bitch._

"Clearly we haven't learned enough if you still have a mouth like that."

She flicked the scanner back on, this time at a different portion of his body, but the pain was the same, and Able just laughed, laughed because now he knew that it bugged her. Laughed because he didn't want The Doctor to hear him in pain, and laughed just because the woman thought that she could get one over on him.

"You Diana Goddard, are nothing."

And Able laughed for one other reason, he laughed because he was free of this woman. Tied down as he was, he was free of her.

...

...

...

The Doctor was feeling so much.

Deep, burning anger toward himself, the Dalek, and his own people for what he had to do, for what he did, and what he was currently doing. Worry, for Rose Tyler, The Able, and constant worry about that Dalek getting out and the destruction that it could cause. Guilt, crushing guilt for what he'd done to his people, to the tortured Dalek, to The Able. The Able in particular was not having a good trip, the Time Lord knew. He'd never seen The Doctor like that, and as soon as he had, The Doctor snapped at him, snapped at his companion as though he was no different from that chained Dalek he'd been so intent on playing with instead of finishing off well he had the chance.

So, The Doctor knew that he earned the pain coming to him.

"Now smile!"

Blinding pain, like something he hadn't felt since he'd ended The Time War.

"Two hearts, a binary vascular system. Oh I am so going to patent this." Statten spoke, likely imagining the money.

"None of this is your own work, you just collect this stuff and reverse engineer it. You aren't anything special, a money could do this. No, an ape is doing this." The Doctor returned, panting for breath.

"This technology has been falling to Earth for centuries. All it took was the right mind to put it to proper use. Oh, the advances I've made because of all this alien junk. You've no idea, Doctor. Broadband? That was me. Just last year my scientists cultivated bacteria from the Russian crate, and do you know what I found? The cure for the common cold. Of course, I kept that strictly within the laboratory. No need to get people excited, when instead of selling one cure I could sell thousands of palliatives." Statten monologues, clearly proud of himself.

Then, The Doctor could hear screams of pain, The Able... Across the psychic field The Doctor could feel that pain, along with an inordinate amount of hatred. Deserved considering he was being tortured in a similar fashion –

"Please Daddy!"

The Doctor suddenly felt a surprised bubble of laughter, he held it back, but it had been there. It made The Doctor felt content in a way he hadn't since this situation started. The Able was something fantastic, that was undeniable. The way he went about his life, even when that life had been shattered, was so inspiring.

It made The Doctor want to be better in a way he hadn't wanted for centuries.

Rose Tyler was quite similar in that. She had a unique way about her that was attractive. Something fresh, so full of life that The Doctor couldn't look away from her as she burned with it. This set such a stark contrast to The Able, who was broken, and in many ways so similar to The Doctor – He'd live to, live a long, non-human life. The Doctor knew of course, that he shouldn't be so attracted to any of his companions, but they forced their way into him, made him care about them. The only thing was, The Able didn't want him, and it made The Doctor feel safe.

He could like The Able and know well that they wouldn't get together because The Able was clearly trying to get The Doctor and Rose together. This was comforting to the Time Lord, because if he could or would start a relationship with one it would be the one that he didn't need to run from.

The one that wouldn't be around long enough to tie down his running feet.

What did you know, apparently thinking about the people you love was quite the pain blocker. At least, it numbed The Doctor to the point where Statten had stopped the scans, or was that something else. Was there some sort of alarm ringing?

The Doctor's lightening fast mind didn't take very long to catch up, "Release me if you want to live."

...

...

...

The second everyone that worked in the building went on high alert, Able knew it was his time to put plans in action. A wiggle of his wrist, and the sonic watch activated, picking the lock that held his arms in place. Archaic for a place like this, to have padlocks. Perhaps intelligent in a way, other things could be hacked into, and it's not every day someone is lucky enough to have a sonic watch.

Diana had moved toward the door, Able swiftly lost all of his chains the second she looked away, before she had the chance to do something about that, Able had rammed her head against the concrete of his cell.

Was there any guilt?

Not a single bit.

Grabbing his shirt, Able through it on and made a bee-line for the woman's ear device that connected her to the other areas of the building. She looked to be waking, so he pulled it roughly and attached it to his own ear. Immediately he was getting reports from several sectors saying that they were experiencing a code red – That Metaltron had gotten itself free.

Rosie Tyler, his Lover, was in danger.

Able jogged to the next door room, all of his pain fading away quickly, and he saw The Doctor, still chained up without his shirt, but what he said, "Release me if you want to live."

"If that your safe word?" Able said, sauntering into the room without a care, and using his sonic watch to unlock the restrains holding The Doctor.

Normally, that would have earned him a manic grin, or perhaps even a pleased look with a side of chuckles. Instead, he got flashed determined eyes. Eyes that read that they wanted to do something about the situation, that said they were going to save someone. Those eyes were going to try and save Rose Tyler.

They were running a second later, a stunned Statten gaining his wits as his prisoners escaped, two of which were going to be helpful though, so there wasn't anything for it considering the situation at hand. It didn't take them too long before they got to an office with a large screen, something of a hub.

"You've got to keep it in that cell." The Doctor ordered.

The guard that was next to her pointed out, "I've sealed the compartment. It can't get out, that locks' got over a billion combinations."

"A Dalek's a genius. It can calculate a thousand billion combinations in one second flat." The Doctor commented, looking very worried. Able had to fight the urge to run toward Rose, because Rose was better at running away than he was. Logically he'd just slow her down, even though he was no slouch in the physical department, she had him far beat.

It hurt, to watch knowing there was nothing he could do. The Doctor had knowledge, therefore could do something, but Able didn't know  _anything_  and didn't have the physical capabilities...

What a hopeless situation to find himself in.

"Doctor, it's all my fault." Rose stated, her tone horribly guilty.

Able cut in at this, because if he couldn't do anything to help, he would comfort her, "You couldn't have known, Lover."

The door opened seconds after, revealing the pepper container in its full glory. The second it opened, the guards started to shot like crazy, and for once Able was thankful toward America's bad habits, because if there was one situation where guns were a good thing, a potential non-terrestrial hostile was one such place.

"Lover, get out of there!"

"Rose, run!"

The Dalek easy killed a few of the guards, smashing the monitor to pieces, but not before displaying just how useless it was for them to use guns again it. Never again would Able be capable of looking at at the Dalek the same way. In fact, Able felt like if he could travel back in time, after seeing that, he might have been the one to pull the little torture lever.

Goddard – when had she woken? – practically whimpered, "We're losing power! It's draining the base, no, it's draining the entire power supplies of Utah!"

"It's downloading." The Doctor observed grimly.

"Downloading what?" Statten asked, but Able swiftly cut in.

"Alright, The Doctor, how do we stop it then? There was a war against them, therefore there must be a way." Able reasoned, trying to remain calm even though  _Rose_  was out there.

"A war against them when we had technology form a more advanced civilization than you little apes could ever dream." The Doctor stated ruthlessly, "Now that Dalek is absorbing the internet, finding out about your people, what makes you tick, what annoys you, what helps you run, and it will try to destroy each one of those things. That's what they do after all, destroy."

Statten seemed to be very pro-Dalek, considering his rants on telling his people to stop shooting at it. Not that it mattered, bullets clearly didn't work. Goddard, the hypocrite that she was, seemed almost horrified that her boss was willing to sacrifice those people.

 _Dirty hypocrite_ , Able thought, glaring at her, and maybe the anger was almost as deep as the anger The Doctor displayed toward the Dalek earlier.

"This collection of yours, I'm assuming you've got alien weapons." The Doctor stated.

Goddard, likely scared for her own life, quickly answered, "Yes, unfortunately enough the Dalek is between us and them."

"We've got to keep that thing alive. We could just seal the entire vault, trap it down there." Statten thought up.

The idea had a weird amount of merit, Able was capable of admitting that. There was one problem however, Rosie was down there, and if this man even thought, for one second, that he was going to seal her down there with such a monster, he was sadly mistaken. He'd be thrown into the vault before that ever happened.

The Doctor apparently agreed, "Leaving everyone trapped with it. Rose is down there, and I won't let that happen. Do you understand me?" The Doctor glared at Statten, before looking at a map Gaddard pulled up, "It's got to go through this area, what's there?"

Apparently everyone was getting a gun. In these circumstances, probably for the best, but Able felt uncomfortable with it. Guns and open-mindedness didn't usually get along well. The Doctor had always seemed to agree with that sentiment, until now.

The ginger male accepted it.

"I thought you were the great expert, Doctor. Yet, if you're so impressive, then why not just reason with this Dalek? It must be willing to negotiate. There must be something it needs, something that it wants." Statten borderline begged.

"What's the nearest town?" The Doctor asked, not even bothering to look at Statten anymore.

"Salt Lake City."

"Population?"

"Over a million."

"All of them would die." The Doctor ruthlessly stated, "If the Dalek were to get out, it would start there before going on to murder every living creatures."

"Surely there's a reason." Statten stated.

"It doesn't matter. One life isn't worth millions of life and all the damage that the Dalek is doing. Even if we could save the Dalek at the price of only your workers, one verses one hundred is still too much." Able said, wondering just how many times he'd have to make a similar point to someone.

Seemingly shutting Statten up for awhile, Able turned toward The Doctor, "What about some sort of massively amplified sound wave. If we found the right frequency surely we could fry it's circuits."

The Doctor finally gave a familiar manic grin, "You are fantastic The Able. Alright, so we make the correct frequency and work on the amplification, and your people should tell each other to concentrate the fire for the dome, head, and eyepiece. It should be able to slow the Dalek down as those are its weak points."

"As if we need to create something to make a frequency when we have this." Able said with a smirk, pulling out his earlier purchase.

Both The Doctor and Able worked to find the right frequency as The Dalek ripped through the countless guards.

"Of course, it wouldn't have worked with just one sonic, not enough amplification. I'm assuming that you added an amplification setting?" The Doctor asked, already knowing the answer.

His first amplification setting was D-1: Amplification of sound. Able knew of course, that sound waves could be a very effective weapon, but he also knew that just in general they could be helpful. Things like binaural beats were a prime example, and something he made liberal use of, so sound amplification was a logical choice.

The Dalek wanted them to watch it kill all the guards. A tactic it had, perhaps, learned from the internet. The Doctor and Able were ignoring the slaughter however, in favor of their plan.

"Perhaps it's time for a new strategy, we might abandon this place." Statten spoke, finally realizing just how life endangering the situation was.

Goddard was similarly motivated, but also rather sassy with Statten, clearly done with his shit, "Except there's no power to the helipad, sir. We can't get out."

Just as they had found the correct frequency, The Doctor looked up toward Statten, "You said, we could seal the vault?"

Able grit his teeth and started working faster. He knew that they needed more time. Correctly configuring the sonics to the frequency and the right volume to not change the frequency needed, not to mention the set up and trap that would be needed. The Doctor was searching for a way to get more time, Able would agree instantly, but Rose was down there.

Statten nodded, "It was designed to be a bunker in the event of a nuclear war. Steel bulkheads and such."

"The Doctor, don't go locking my Lover in there." Able stated simply, scribbling out the equations needed, and the calculations needed to be almost too precise considering just what type of technology they were dealing with.

The Doctor just looked sad for a moment, "You always talk a big game with those numbers."

In other words, if I have to, I might sacrifice Rose if it means saving the billions of people on this planet. Something that Able liked to talk a big game on a lot, but when it came down to it... There were two people he cared about, Rose, and The Doctor, and Able was sort of willing to let the world burn for them if he needed to, despite the lack of logic there. The only issue was, if they sealed Rose in, then she would die... Yet when you added someone else into the 'equation' it looked more like...

Rose The Doctor and the whole Earth.

Doctor House once stated that the problem with him was the fact he was cursed with the ability to actually do the math. Able always thought he knew what that meant – Now he definitely did.

"We've got emergency power, so we could re-route that to the bulkhead doors and trap the Dalek down there well me and The Able finish up the work on the frequency device." The Doctor explained.

Goddard shook her head, looking panicked, and Able would have made a dig at her for it, had he not been rushing through his own math, math that couldn't be wrong, "We'd have to bypass the security codes, we would need a computer genius."

"Good thing you've got me, then." Statten stated, sitting himself at the computer. The Doctor started to help Statten, and Able tried not to let that bother him.

Tried not to think that if The Doctor had helped started helping Able instead, they might finish this device in time to actually save Rose, instead of potentially trapping her. So Able blocked everything out, so intent on the calculations that he ignored everything else that was going on around him. He couldn't hear anything other than his own thoughts.

"Done!"

"I'm sorry."

Both things were said at once, and Able looked toward The Doctor, and The Doctor was looking at Able with heavy eyes, and that contact lasted for a few moments, "Rose! Did you make it?"

The phone was placed on speaker, "Sorry... I was a bit slow. See you, then, Doctor. It wasn't your fault, nor was it Able's... Please remember that, okay? I wouldn't have missed this for the world."

Disconnected.

Just like Able's feelings.

"Well, at least we can go get some revenge on the easy." Able stated, lifting the frequency device with a hollow smile. The Doctor didn't return it though, he looked heartbroken. Good, he should, because if he had just helped with the frequency device they would have been done quickly enough to save her –

"I killed her..." The Doctor murmured, pain clear on his face.

Able quickly got to his feet and forgot ever being angry at the man. He forgave him without a second thought and brushed their minds together, offering the man comfort, warm emotions that Able wasn't aware he could feel in a situation such as this.

Then a familiar young male ran into the room, his expression somber and guilty.

"You were quick on your feet, leaving Rose behind."

Able gritted his teeth, agreeing with The Doctor, and their anger merged into something unfathomable, "I believe at some point I stated I would kill you, Statten, if The Doctor didn't survive this. I hadn't thought Rosie was in danger at the time... When I see conformation she's dead, if I do, then I kill you and your little sycophant, then  _Diana_  just for good measure."

The Doctor felt validated with those words, agreed with them, and those feelings echoed through their bond. It occurred that the bond between two volatile beings in a time like this probably wasn't a good thing, but Able needed that closeness.

The Doctor sent a warm comfort back to Able.

"Open the bulkhead or Rose Tyler dies."

Delight, hope, and when they'd thought the comfort from before was warm, those emotions were like fire.

"Lover!"

"You're alive!" The Doctor cried incredulously, hope echoing through the two telepathic minds until it was bursting at the seams.

Rose gave the camera a shaky smile, "Can't get rid of me, who would stop Able from jumping everything in the Universe."

Able managed a toothy grin, "Oh Lover, as if you even bother to stop me. You delight in it all."

Able distinctly recalled recording a 'session' of this to show Rosie at some point. The amusement passed through the bond, and The Doctor  _laughed_.

"Open the bulkhead!" The Dalek demanded, bringing the mood back to the dirt, "What use are emotions if you will not save the woman you love?"

Able felt it then, and he almost wanted to crush the bond within his teeth as he felt The Doctor's love for Rose. He couldn't stop the jealously that he sent back, and he got a surprised look from The Doctor, but it didn't last for half a second before their attention was back on the screen and the current situation.

"I killed her once, I can't do it again." The Doctor announced, opening the doors.

The screen went blank, "What do we do now, you bleeding heart?! What the hell do we do?!" Statten shouted, looking panicked.

Able just gave the usually smug man a smile more befitting on his face, "Well, unlike before, we actually have a weapon."

Able handed the device to The Doctor, who looked it over, rather impressed by the work, "Good job, The Able, fantastic you are."

Warmth burst through their minds, and it was embarrassing, but Able quickly brought himself back under control, "I'm quite brilliant, after all. Of course I would do a good job."

...

...

...

The two men ran down the hallways at speeds that should have been impossible. The Doctor had pulled ahead, Able stayed in pace though, not letting the Time Lord get too far ahead of him. After all, Rosie was in danger, pushing his limits was the least Able could do.

Able could see The Doctor burst through the doors and aim the device at the Dalek, it activated a moment later.

The ginger could hear the scream of pain that left the Dalek, it would be something you'd imagine coming out of someone who'd never felt pain before suddenly getting stabbed in the abdomen.

"Stop it! It's just trying to feel the sun!" Able heard Rose scream in panic, just as he arrived to the sight of their device being used. The squid like life form from inside the pepper suit was twitching, and the screams had stopped, just as The Doctor turned off the device, giving into Rose's frantic pleas.

Standing next to The Doctor, he could feel the man's fear, panic, but the satisfaction was there as well. He'd killed the Dalek, and that satisfaction whirled around the two of them, building stronger by the second, even as the Dalek was gasping out its last words.

"I... am ... dying... but I am dying... of my own free will... and I got to see the light... thank you... Rose Tyler."

Rose was crying, stepping away from the Dalek, just in time, as a second later it's pepper shaker armor exploded.

There was silence for awhile, all of them taking in what had happened. Rose full out sobbing into her hands, but The Doctor and Able, they were just... okay. The satisfaction had faded between the two, and any feeling of relief was fading with Rose's broken sobs.

The silence was broken with the crack of skin contacting skin echoing off the walls.

"I can't believe I ever wanted to be with someone who could do something like that." Rose sobbed out, holding her now reddening hand to her chest before running off – Likely back to the TARDIS

Leaving The Doctor and Able staring after her, and the numb shock stayed for a moment, maybe minutes, neither of them could tell when it was that The Doctor snapped out of it, but the despite the moment he did was astounding. Instead of flinching away, or blaming The Doctor like Rose had, Able accepted.

Accepted that pain just like he accepted everything else in regards to The Doctor and Rose Tyler.

He wrapped his mind around the mans, sending him forgiveness, telling him with emotions, not words, just how wrong Rose was. If she'd known the pain they had gone through when they thought she had died... The determination they had shown in the face of such an enemy... She still wouldn't forgive them because she couldn't understand. Her world was too small, too rigidly moral. Able however, his world was ever expanding, and full of grey shades that would send people into disgust at times.

Able pushed the man feelings of optimism, hope, safety, and pure unconditional care, "No matter what, The Doctor, I'll forgive you."

"The Enabler, huh?" The Doctor suddenly asked, not even bothering to look at him, or hide the pain in his voice.

Able could currently feel all of it and more, after all.

"It's pretty accurate, wouldn't you say."

**R &R**

**Soooo... What do you think? I hadn't intended to go this way, but let's just say I was struck by inspiration. Darker than the original episode that's for certain, even with such a usually light hearted character (Able). You've got to wonder, just how this will affect both of their relationships with Rose, especially that budding romance The Doctor was just hours ago thinking of allowing.**

               


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:**  I don't own anything that I've written. Yep, that's right, I own not even one iota of the below work.

 **Summary:**  Able is an actual doctor, and so, so much more. We all know 'The Doctor' does have a pendent for running into impossible things - and if Able was anything, he was an impossible thing. (A twist on the usual OC and The Doctor formula has original ideas and later on, canon divergence. M/M)

 **Warnings:**  This is a Doctor Who fic, so I doubt any of the readers will turn down reading this just because it's slash. After all, we have the canon Jack Harkness. (Who deserves a warning all on his own.) Canon typical violence, language, and later on there will probably be more explicit sexual content.

 **Authour Note:**  I'm noticing a lot of character development in Rose that I hadn't before when I wrote about her morals. In the beginning she is very against killing in anyway, yet somewhere along the line it starts to become okay. Like in the episode with Satan... I'm playing it up with the morals of hers and making her a strong character who doesn't back down from them. Something I think Rose has always been, but those morals twist a lot when she's with The Doctor after a time. Can't believe I'm just now noticing this.

For RGB125 who, fairly enough, stated very strongly they didn't like the direction the story was going, next time please state more clearly why, so I know what I'm actually doing wrong. I'm treating the relationship between The Doctor and Rose as carefully and respectfully as I can, well still slowly working toward my own pairing. A pairing which I haven't been at all secretive about. How you got to chapter six if you disliked the pairing, only to review there, I've no clue. I'd also like to point out that my OC is NOT too good to be true. That chapter was LITERALLY me showing all of Able's faults. I admit I did state that I planned to have Rose and The Doctor together before the OC and The Doctor, but I have a few changes down the line which made that impossible so I had to change that plan. I'm sorry if you disliked that.

I said before that I was seriously considering both The Master and River Song for a threesome with The Doctor and Able. Considering the mix of characters I'm starting to think The Master is a better fit. Especially considering, you know, The Enabler... It all fits rather well. I'm not completely sure on this yet, but I'm definitely leaning toward yes, and with The Master. Just thought to let you know where I was with all of that.

**Chapter Eight: The Long Game**

...

_The silence was broken with the crack of skin contacting skin echoing off the walls._

_"I can't believe I ever wanted to be with someone who could do something like that." Rose sobbed out, holding her now reddening hand to her chest before running off – Likely back to the TARDIS_

_Leaving The Doctor and Able staring after her, and the numb shock stayed for a moment, maybe minutes, neither of them could tell when it was that The Doctor snapped out of it, but the despite the moment he did was astounding. Instead of flinching away, or blaming The Doctor like Rose had, Able accepted._

_Able wrapped his mind around the mans, sending him forgiveness, telling him with emotions, not words, just how wrong Rose was. If she'd known the pain they had gone through when they thought she had died... The determination they had shown in the face of such an enemy... She still wouldn't forgive them because she couldn't understand. Her world was too small, too rigidly moral. Able however, his world was ever expanding, and full of grey shades that would send people into disgust at times._

_"The Enabler, huh?" The Doctor suddenly asked, not even bothering to look at him, or hide the pain in his voice._

_"It's pretty accurate, wouldn't you say."_

...

"He's coming with us."

Her eyes were red as she leaned against the TARDIS, holding the hand of the young man who worked for Mr. Henry van Statten, his name was Adam, or something along those lines. Able didn't quite like something about him, but that might have something to do with him seemingly coming in between Rose and The Doctor, even before this falling out.

What a falling out it had been.

Rose's words had silenced both scientists, and hurt The Doctor deeply. Able and The Doctor were still connected by the mind, and that hurt still hadn't faded – If anything it only grew when seeing Rose's fiery determination. How could it not? Having someone so purely moral disagreeing with you when it came to what The Doctor did. Especially true when it was someone The Doctor seemed to have been coming to love, and had only wanted to protect. Able could feel the echoes of that raging protectiveness even now, and it had mirrored the gingers own.

Able sent back his comfort toward The Doctor at to soothe his current unease around their blonde companion. Still, behind that hurt there was something else.

The Doctor wanted Rose's forgiveness.

"Fine then, he can come along." The Doctor said, making sure to keep the device they'd used behind his back, as not to ensure farther rage from their friend.

Rose just nodded, and opened the TARDIS doors, dragging Adam in behind her, and leaving Able and The Doctor to watch after them, entering the TARDIS themselves, only seeing the other two disappear into the depths of the Time Machine.

Able took this quiet moment to muse over the feelings he was getting from The Doctor's mind, "You'll try to gain her forgiveness? My Lover isn't easy to win over, let me tell you..."

The Doctor sent back a solemn sort of determination, just walking over toward the TARDIS' console.

"Alright then, I'll take my watch back, and what about the 'instrument' that I bought?" Able said, letting the Rose matter drop, although decided that he would talk to her some time before the next trip.

"It's a empathetic life form from the planet Altros, called Alereros. It bounds with its owner more and more dependent on the emotions it receives, and the larger the bond, the better the music. Part of the reason Altros had such a beautiful culture, full of arts and wonder. It's beaches are like nothing that you would have seen on Earth, possibly couldn't comprehend at all unless you were to see it." The feelings of awe were quickly damped, "... It's gone now. Destroyed in The Time War, and this little guy is probably one of the last survivors of the planet..."

Able could feel childlike wonder build as The Doctor started to explain the wondrous world, and the picture painted had been breathtaking, and once again his wonder was stolen away. The ginger was starting to wonder if he could hold onto that feeling for more than an hour at a time.

"Do you think I could bond with it?" Able asked, watching as The Doctor took apart the device, petting the Alereros softly in thanks for its help.

The Doctor looked startled, but vaguely thoughtful, and a weary sort of reluctance went through their connection. Before Able could take it back, because what was he thinking, The Doctor deserved something, anyone that could understand him, the Time Lord had nodded.

"Probably for the best... I would bring too much melancholy to the bond I suppose. I'm sure the music the two of you make will be fantastic." Suddenly, a familiar manic grin was back, as both the Alereros and Able's sonic watch were returned to him, "I've got an idea for the next place we'll go. You'll love it."

The surety of that reflected in The Doctor's emotions, shining through all the depressive feelings, and it made Able fill with excitement. Before he knew it, the ginger was bouncing on his toes, "I can't wait."

With that, the two separated as well, it had been a long day, and they needed the rest. The companionship had helped some of the worst emotions go away, but both of them knew the dreams they had that night would be telling. When the bound between them broke. There was just one last string of reluctance.

...

...

...

Able was woken the next morning by the gentle humming of the TARDIS, which was one of the best ways to wake up. She filled you with a sense of warmth every morning, almost like getting a hug... In those moments, it was like the outside world didn't even exist. The ginger felt a bit of jealously toward The Doctor, for having that wake up for so many years. Then again, the Time Lord clearly paid in full.

"You know, TARDIS, you're acronym is so unfamiliar for a name. I'm going to call you Red from now on – Just to be mildly contrary."

He got a warm humming back, and Able went about his day. Took a shower, got dressed in his usual outfit, worked on his watch for a bit, fixing the fried circuits from the mild overloading it had received because of the Dalek Frequency Device. He also connected his mind with the Alereros', and the being was so sad... but accepting of Able. Once fully ready, he went out to the console room.

The Doctor was already there.

So was Rose and an amazed Adam.

"Lover, could I talk to you alone for a minute?" Able asked, keeping his tone level.

It was hard to do so, because inwardly he was so conflicted. He wanted to be understand Rose's feelings, but his understanding of The Doctor's were so much more intrinsic. Instead, the best way to go about it would likely be taking some of the heat off of the Time Lord, and explaining his line of thinking a bit more. After getting a single, almost harsh nod from the Blonde, they both walked into the kitchen.

"You shouldn't defend him for this. What he did was wrong." Was the first thing that came out of Rose's mouth, her tone stubborn.

She clearly knew her best friend and his intentions well.

"Yes, I will defend him, because I care about both of you and I think a little understanding could be used on your part. Please keep in mind that those Dalek killed all of The Doctor's people, did war with The Doctor's people, his family, his friends, everyone that he knew, and his planet is now gone. He wanted to protect you, and he knows better than anyone,  _including 19 year old human females_ , what one of them is capable of." Able explained logically.

Her stubborn mask faltered a little bit, and her eyes were so confused and hurt, "I can't condone something like that, I just can't. Killing is wrong, and if The Doctor thought that the Dalek killing his people was wrong, why could he possibly think that him killing the Dalek was okay? It's faulty, isn't it?"

Able and Rose had many talks over the years about logic and its inclusion within morality. They had vastly differing opinions, but seeing her so lost really drove home how much this matter wasn't in relation to the logical morality, but rather, to emotions.

"The difference is the feelings Rosie. Dalek's killed just to kill, because they were programmed that way. The Doctor, on the other hand, just wanted you to be safe, and he thought the best way to do it was to kill the Dalek before it could do any harm. Whether he was right, or wrong, his heart was in the right place." Able finally said after thinking it over.

Rose was crying.

These weren't the sobs that had happened when in front of the Dalek, but just soft tears running down her cheeks. A moment later, she leapt into Able's arms and wrapped her arms around his neck, and just took in the comfort that her best friend so willingly gave.

"I can't..." She muttered against his shoulder, "I can't forget this, I won't... I understand a bit better now, and maybe I can forgive him,  _and you had better believe I'll make him work for even that_... I won't forget though."

Able couldn't help but admire just how strong his friend was, "You're amazing, Lover, you truly are."

It wouldn't heal everything between the two, and surely they would likely never be on track for the relationship Able had hoped the two would achieve, but it was something. The Doctor needed that something, because those emotions that he felt when Rose had spoken those words... He needed her, Able could describe it as codependence between the two, but it really wasn't.

The Doctor needed her, Rose didn't need him.

It wasn't healthy, Able knew this for a fact, but that was what he was, The Enabler. So despite the fact he knew it wasn't healthy, it made The Doctor feel better, and thus, the ginger wasn't going to try and change it.

"I'm sorry..." She suddenly said, pulling away from him and looking him in the eye.

Able titled his head questioningly.

"You were trying pretty hard to get us together..." Rose mentioned, looking almost embarrassed about it now, a stark contrast to how thankful she'd been before.

"Lover, I am the best wingman there is, and I would always do something like that for you. Besides, who knows, maybe someday. The Universe is filled with possibilities."

"Not that one." She stated strongly, and there was that fiery steel behind her eyes, "I won't, not with someone that thinks killing is okay, especially not when they did it to save me. It would always be on my mind when I looked at him, and that isn't fair to either of us."

Able wasn't entirely sure how close The Doctor had been to going into a relationship with Rose... But for the two of them, the ginger hoped it wasn't that far, because it would only hurt all the more. Rose made a good point though, because if that was on her mind when she looked at The Doctor, a touch telepath, it would never work out. It would only hurt more if they continued only to realize that, Able assumed. He didn't have much experience in the emotional side of having a partner after all.

"Well then, I have it on good authority The Doctor has a good trip coming up as an apology. We can take your cute little rebound and you can show off to him." Able planned, a small teasing note in his voice.

Rose cracked a smile, and they left the kitchen for the console room with Able's arm draped over the blondes shoulder.

...

...

...

Able took a place next to The Doctor at the console, after his talk with Rose, and pushed his shoulder against the man, attaching the two together in a telepathic bond once more.

' _She says you'll have to work for your forgiveness_.' Able projected, sending a digital version of a warm smile.

The Doctor sent back excitement, happiness, determination, and gratitude, all of which were undertoned by the still, always lingering guilt and more depressive emotions. With it all, was the slightest twinge of embarrassment, and however you could phrase the want to slip away from the connection. The Doctor was a private guy, Able knew that since they first started connecting their minds, and his inability to hide in regards to emotions in between their minds was probably a source of discomfort.

Yet, The Doctor seemed to need it, so Able was more than willing to comply.

And, because the ginger was so honest with himself, he could admit that he was starting to really get attached to The Doctor's mind and his own converging. It was close and intimate, it allowed him to know pieces of The Doctor you couldn't just by looking. The sadness, loneliness, all the bad things that he hid beneath that manic grin.

Able's embarrassing musings of The Doctor were cut short when the TARDIS started to move an Able was thrown to the ground, snapping his and The Doctor's connection – Hopefully before the gingers thoughts had spread to The Doctor's mind.

Instead of keeping his mind on The Doctor, Able rushed toward the TARDIS doors with enthusiasm. The Doctor had promised a trip that Able would love, which meant that it would be interesting and probably right up a scientific ally. Both Able and Rose started to look around with a curiosity you'd expect in children.

The Doctor cleared his throat, "Right, so it's 200,000 and it's a space station. Go try that gate over there, off you go!"

The second Rose's eyes met The Doctor's, the speech the Time Lord had put together for what this choice was, and why he'd made it, dropped off into nothing. Instead he leaned himself against the TARDIS and decided to watch, just let Rose make her own conclusions and do what she did so brilliantly, ask all the right questions.

"Adam? Out you get!" Rose exclaimed, looking the smallest bit excited.

Able was glad for his best friend, but seeing the minor flitch coming from The Doctor put a bit of a dampener on that.

Adam left the TARDIS and was looking around with a gapping mouth as he spun around and took in his surroundings. He was clearly awestruck, and Able could understand why. The place was a technological marvel compared to the time that they came from. The ginger could feel the urge to rock on the balls of his feet just itching at him, and he wanted to explore, to look around this place and learn all that he could, like a child in a candy store. However, leaving The Doctor and Rose alone after what happened before was slightly cruel. Able almost regretted what an amazing friend he was.

"Oh my gosh..." Adam finally muttered, what seemed to be an eternity later.

Rose just smiled in a false confidence, clearly wanting to show off to the handsome guy, "Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

"Where are we?"

"Good question... Let's see, judging by the architecture, I'd say that we are around the year 200,000." Rose quoted, but her face gave nothing away.

Able felt a grin twitching to his lips, "Smooth, Lover, get 'em."

The ginger looked over toward The Doctor, who also looked amused at what was going on. Able knew him better though, and could see that hidden layer of sadness, because the sun that was Rose Tyler currently didn't want the Time Lord revolving around her, and instead choose a... lackluster human being for that role which had been his.

Of course, Able knew that Rose wasn't replacing The Doctor, but he could see why the Time Lord would view it that way. That was assuming he was even correct as to the Time Lords thoughts to begin with.

"If you listen closely, you can hear the engines. We're on some sort of space station, yeah... Definitely a space station. It's a bit warm in here though, they could turn the heating down." Rose commented, before turning toward Adam, and her face was full of flirty intentions, "Tell you what, let's go try out that gate. Come on!"

Watching Rose tug along the still awestruck Adam, Able noticed just how weird it was. Rose wasn't the type for a rebound. So Adam must not be that, but if he wasn't a rebound... A message? A comfort? More than likely a message, for The Doctor then, and it's meaning?  _I don't like you as I did before, we are both going to have to move on._

Rose, perhaps the most unsubtle person in the Universe, came up with that.

Not only that, but from The Doctor's reactions, it was clearly working. It was forcing The Doctor to let go of those romantic connotations that had been building in the last five or so months that they'd spent together. How something which was so intimate could unravel so quickly because of one action... Able couldn't help but compare it to a fixed point in time.

The Doctor and Able followed after the two at a more sated pace. By the time they got there, Rose was staring in a sense of wonder as well, and Able practically pranced forward and stared, his eyes lightening up, and you knew just how much he'd healed from all the pain he'd gone through in the past few months, just because of how easily the childish awe came to him.

"... I'll let The Doctor describe it."

"The Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire, and there it is, The Planet Earth at its height. Covered with mega-cities powered with green energy that your generation will create, with five moons and a population of 96 billion. The hub of the Galactic Domain, stretching across millions of planets, billions of species, with mankind right in the center of it all." The Doctor spoke, his voice impassioned, and he'd never looked more human.

It was the same voice, that tempting tone that he'd used to seduce Rose back into the TARDIS. Every time he explained something, he'd slip into that tone and you would just want to listen to him.

Able thought The Doctor's voice was quickly becoming far too much like a drug habit that the ginger never wanted to get rid of.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, Able's enthralled state was broken by the sound that was extremely familiar. A rather feminine sigh, followed by the sound of a body hitting the floor.

"Lover, you could do so much better."

"I'm beginning to see that now."

The Doctor just erupted into a careless laughter, although maybe there was a hint of mocking in there, jealousy at its finest, "Well, he's your boyfriend."

"Not anymore." Rose said simply, not even bothering to look at the slumped form, "Next trip we aren't bringing him, and I can get a proper apology trip."

The Doctor winced slightly, but nodded quickly, and he wanted her forgiveness. Wanted it more than he thought possible, "Wherever and whenever you want. Your choice, I will grant it if it's within the TARDIS' capabilities."

"Good."

 _Now that, is one hell of an apology_ , Able thought to himself, almost wishing that it was him that had been mad at The Doctor, "The Doctor, I have a lot of questions."

"I thought you might." The Doctor said, looking straight at Able, "You are far too curious not to have them, The Able, fantastic human that you are."

A few moments later, Adam had woken up and Able was drilling The Doctor for information. How did the Earth gain five moons? What exactly was a mega-city? What happened to the First through Third Great and Bountiful Human Empire's? Each was answered by a thrilled Doctor before they got to an intersection and the Time Lord went on to say, "You're gonna like this fantastic period in history. The human race at its most intelligent, culture, art, politics. This era has got the fine food, good manners –"

Then, chaos occurred.

Now, Able quickly observed that by his standards, these human beings were not exactly all that intelligent, good mannered, or eaters of fine cuisine. This could gave just been him sticking to his own ideals too much, maybe the meaning of those words changed with the times.

The Doctor seemed suitably confused as well though, which changed Able's opinion rather quickly, "My watch must be wrong..."

Able leaned over toward The Doctor and compared, "Well, mine's the same, and I think we both know who has the superior watch."

The Doctor looked at his ginger companion in utter deadpan, "You, shut up." The Doctor then took another look around, as though studying his environment intensely, looking for inaccuracies, and something about that sharp look in his eye was extremely appealing to Able –

_Or it would have been had his best friend not only just came through an emotional roller coaster involving The Doctor._

"Yes... This is definitely weird."

Able thought it over for a minute, "You know what else is weird. Century 2000, and not a single non-human other than yourself on this station that I've seen thus far. Considering what you alluded to about the 51st century, that's a bit off. Instead this place is pure human... That's not right."

"That's a good point, The Able, just like I would point out that my history is perfect. So is my time sense, and thus, something is really wrong with this..." The Doctor paused for a moment, before wrapping an arm around Adam's shoulders as the boy looked around with amazement still, "Adam, me old mate, you must be simply starving."

"No, I'm just time sick." Adam stated.

Able rolled his eyes, "So glad you could make up a term for your fainting, but we could all just keep it simple and call it what it is."

This Adam was starting to get worse than Mickey, and Able hadn't been sure that was possible. Then again, in their last meeting Mickey had proved himself...

"Oi mate, how much is a Cronk Burger?" The Doctor yelled to the fast food joint.

"Two and twenty sub-credits sweetheart, now get some cash and join the queue." The owner said over the roar of the crowd.

A few moments later, The Doctor had lead them over to an ATM machine and pressed his sonic screwdriver against it. The computer systems in this century would surely be too complicated for the sonic watch... Just another thing that Able would need to change and add in the next time he got the chance. The Doctor handed the credits to Adam, and started to move away.

"Don't spent it all on sweets, kids."

"How does it work?" Adam asked.

"Go and find out, no need to nag me about it. The thing is Adam, that when it comes to Time Travel, you don't get a guide book, you throw yourself in, you use the wrong pronouns, you get slapped for offending people, you end up married to royalty in the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth centuries back-to-back... Or is that just me... Regardless, you got to figure it out yourself! That's part of the experience."

The Doctor walked away after that speech, and Able followed after.

"Did I make it seem like I wanted company, The Able?"

"Well, The Doctor, it was quite the opposite, which is what has me so curious. You wouldn't try to halt my curiosity, would you?" Able looked up at The Doctor, liking the fact light banter brought a bit more of that light into the Time Lord's eyes.

"The Enabler, your curiosity brings far too much to the foreground for me to turn it away." The Doctor said, and somehow using that extension, a title that Able knew was so fitting for himself...

It was intimate, and it surprised Able a lot that he felt in such a away. The title was so him, so perfectly fitting, and he could feel a flush of shame build to his cheeks. Being an enabler surely wasn't a good thing. An enabler is a person who encourages or enables negative or self-destructive behavior in another. Yet, this was The Doctor, and Able was exactly that, an Enabler, and thus couldn't ask the man to not use the title, despite how rude and somewhat hurtful it was.

They moved on, and Able didn't say another word until they met up with what The Doctor seemed to be looking for, "Erm, this is going to sound utterly daft, but could you tell us where we are?"

He asked this question to a couple of woman, who quickly looked at The Doctor strangely for the question, as the Time Lord had predicted.

"Floor 139, wonder if they could have written it any bigger..." The dark-skinned woman of the couple commented sarcastically.

"Floor 139 of what exactly?"

"Must have been some hell of a party." The woman said again, still looking at the two strangely.

Able just gave her a grin, "Oh, like you wouldn't believe. You see, me and this guy right here? We were actually on Earth when the party started, can you believe we ended up all the way on this station? But the Tree we had between us, oh she was a beauty..."

The Doctor just nodded with a manic grin, preferring to get answers, no need not to let The Able have a bit of fun when getting them.

"Well, that's certainly an impressive drunk travel."

"Nono, not drunk, it was the pheromones, oh she was an impressive specimen, said that she was getting a new job around here, but no idea where here was, too distracted, you see." Able farther explained, and oh the childish joy he was getting out of spinning the little web of lies was far too great to ever stop.

"Well... You're on Satellite Five." The other woman spoke, cutting across the dark-skinned woman before another sarcastic reply could be shot.

"You can't be serious... Getting on board because of some threesome you were having with a Tree..." The dark-skinned woman interjected, "Oh, is this some sort of test from the upper management?"

What an assumption that was. Able almost though his story was more believable in the face of that random conclusion.

"You've got us, far too clever, you are." The Doctor mocked agreed, before pulling out his psychic paper, "The Doctor and The Able, inspectors assigned by top management."

"We were warned about this in basic training. All workers have to be versed in company promotion."

"Right, Fire away, ask your questions. If it get's be to Floor 500, I'll do anything." The dark-skinned woman finally said, looking almost too eager, borderline fanatical.

"Why, what happens on Floor 500?" The Doctor asked.

"The walls are made of gold, which you should know, so... This is what we do." The woman stated, walking toward a screen. Able was starting to mentally list a bunch of questions that occurred to him, although for the time being just observed, "Latest news, sandstorms on the New Venus Archipelago, leaving 200 dead. Glasgow water riots into their third day. Space-lane 37 closed by sunspot activity. Over on the Bad Wolf Channel, we have The Face of Boe, who just announced he's pregnant."

"Really?! Brilliant! Jack told me all about that pregnancy, good for him." Able said, his lips curving into a toothy grin as he thought of the friend he'd made at Platform One.

"That, and everything else, we are the news, we are the ones that write it, package it, and get it out there for consumption." The dark-skinned woman said, and she had a fire in her eyes, clearly determined and hopeful that her drive would take her places, "I'm Cathica, and that over there is Suki. Please take note of that."

Suddenly an buzzer went off, and clearly break for these people was over. The group converged once again and, acting as Management still, Able, The Doctor, Rose, and Adam followed Cathica the station she worked under the pretense of having an inspection.

...

...

...

"Now everybody be on your best behavior, we have a management inspection today." Cathica spoke, gesturing toward The Doctor and Able, who gave nearly simultaneous little waves. Cathica then turned toward The Doctor, "How do you want it, by the book?"

The Doctor nodded, "Right from the scratch, thanks."

"After which, we will ask our questions." Able added.

"Okay, so ladies and gentlemen, multisex, undecided, and or robots, my name is Cathica Santini Khadeni. That is, Cathica with a C, just in case you want to write that to floor 500 praising me, and please, do." Cathica added, and her ego definitely filled the room.

Able fought the urge to smile as he bounced on his toes. Year 200,000 and people are greeting each other with more than just ladies and gentlemen, but also multisex, undecided, and robots... The advancement was amazing as a society. The ginger wished that he could bag some of that open mindedness and set it free in the 21st century.

"Please, feel free to ask any questions. The process of news gathering must be open, honest, and non-biased, as is company policy." Cathica lectured in a matter-of-fact tone.

Suki interrupted, "Actually... It's the law."

A law that prevents the news from being bias? Every news organization in the 21st century could use that... Able was starting to get jealous.

"Okay, keep it calm and don't go showing off for the guests. Here we go, engage safety, and... Spike!" Cathica spoke, sitting down on the seat in the middle, her forehead opening up to show her brain, and light started to pour into her mind, Able was utterly fascinated.

In the light you could see, ones and zeros, binary code being pushed into the human brain. So they were using humans as large, super powered processors or something along those lines. The idea of a human brain was a running idea in science even when Able was from. Interesting, although Able was confused as to how her brain didn't burn out.

"That can't be healthy – Too much information entering her mind at once... How does her head not turn to cream? Also, having a hole into your brain, kind of unhygienic if you ask me." Able finished off, but he was far too entranced by what he was seeing to look away.

"All that compressed information, streaming into her. It's got to be reports from every city, every country, ever planet, and they all get packaged inside her head. She becomes part of the software, and her brain is the computer. Of course, like The Able said, if she remembered any of that, her brain would burn out relatively quickly. Instead, the information flows through her, using her as a director, and she decides in the moment what she will report on, then the knowledge flows out. When it's all done, she doesn't remember a thing. To her credit though, you'd have to be quite clever to be considered for such a thing. If a moron tried it, their brain would surely fry." The Doctor explained, starting to walk around, watching with a fine tooth comb in his expressive eyes.

"What about all these people around the edges?" Rose asked, although she didn't bother to look at The Doctor, remaining awkwardness at the sight of him most likely.

"They all have little chips in their head, connecting them to her. She picks what they report, they are the ones that sort it all out into the cohesive stories, and through them, the 600 channels transmit. Every fact in the empire beams out of this station."

"With monopolies comes corruption." Able commented.

The Doctor gave him a grin, "Exactly! But how and why?"

"I can see inside of her brain." Adam interrupted the brainstorming, looking a mixture of sickened, alarmed, and awed.

Able clicked his tongue, "Technically, you can see the outside of her brain... You going to get 'time sick' again?"

"No, this technology... It's... It's amazing." Adam spoke, and Able was quickly confirming his opinion on the guy. Clearly he wasn't to be trusted, he was almost too greedy. Of course, Able was much the same, he wanted to look at something like that and understand it. The sonic watch was proof enough of this, but the difference here was that Able didn't want money... Whereas Adam worked for Statten of all people.

The Doctor interrupted though, "The technology is wrong."

"What do you mean?" Rose asked, looking at Adam instead of The Doctor.

Before The Doctor could explain though, Suki rocketed backward from the console as though she'd been zapped. The other people were forced to spot as well, looking around in confusion. The power went out, for whatever reason, and the beam of binary that was going through Cathica's brain stopped, the door closed soon after.

"Come off it Suki, we weren't even half way done, what was that for?" Cathica asked, perhaps harsher than was needed, but the 'Management' was present, not the best time to screw up.

"Sorry, must've been a glitch."

"Promotion!" The loudspeaker announced, and all of the reporters listened in rapt attention.

"I don't believe it... Floor 500." Suki muttered in awe as her name was called out, rather inattentive to her friends rage at the unfairness of it all, "I applied on the off chance that I might get it, and they've said yes!"

"That's so not fair; I have been applying there for three years." Cathica growled out.

...

...

...

The whole group of time travelers followed the two journalists toward the lift where a still slighted Cathica said goodbye to her friend. At least, Cathica put on a happy face for her friend, up until the point that the lift took off.

"Good riddance."

"You're talking like you'll never see her again. She's only going upstairs." The Doctor stated.

Able saw his chance for some of the questions that he'd been building up to for awhile now, "Why do all of you want to go to Floor 500 so much? You say that the walls are made of gold, that's great, what's that do for you? Why aren't there any non-human species here? Why is there only one news station? How many people do this news broadcasting thing?"

Able fired back to back questions toward Cathica relentlessly, his curiosity begging him to figure it all out, and as he spoke, he was bouncing on his toes excitedly, wanting more pieces of the puzzle.

"Once someone goes to Floor 500, they don't come back." Cathica answered The Doctor first, before turning toward Able with a strange look on her face upon seeing his current demeanor, "Because Floor 500 is a major promotion, everyone wants it! I suppose the immigration has tightened up a bit because of the current situation... And a few choice teams do most of the work."

"You don't even know what comes along with the promotion you want, do you?" Able asked, already knowing the answer.

Cathica seemed to be getting irritated with the questions though. Able was almost surprised when after a little sidebar with Adam, Rose came over and joined him and The Doctor. He would have expected her to avoid because of the awkwardness involved, but it would seem that she was pushing through that feeling stronger than he'd thought.

Not even a few moments later, The Doctor was scanning the walls with his sonic and following the wires down to a room full of circuits that seemed to connect the whole of the station. He quickly started to rummage through the room, messing with the equipment and rerouting and connecting wires using his sonic.

"We probably shouldn't be here, could you give it a rest?" Cathica said, looking around the room impatiently.

"You've never been to another floor? Not even one floor down?" The Doctor asked completely disregarding her question.

She shrugged, "I went to floor sixteen when I first arrived, that's medical. I got my head done there, then I came straight up here. At Satellite Five, you work, eat, and sleep on the same floor unless you get promoted. That's it..." She trailed off, "You're not management, are you?"

"At last, she has a clever thought." The Doctor jibbed.

"You don't think it's a bit weird Cathica? You never see people from other floors, you don't technically know what's on Floor 500 but you want it so damn bad. You've worked here for years, but presumably this is the first time you'd met someone from 'management'. You don't think something's a bit off about that?"

"That's just the way it's done." She snapped, looking frustrated.

Able narrowed his eyes at her, "Or maybe, that's just the way your brain has been molded to think. After all, you let them in there every day without much thought as to who is pushing knowledge through those synapses of yours."

"The Able is right, you're a journalist, where's the Muckraker-Attitude you're meant to have in regards to your job. In some aspects, I guess things have gone downhill since 1900." The Doctor said, blatantly insulting the dark-skinned woman, if her reaction of deep offense was any clue.

Able wrapped an arm about Rose's shoulder, "My Lover here is a better reporter than you'll ever be. She asks all the right questions, if The Doctor is to be believed."

Rose gave a smile, and turned toward Cathica, "You mentioned before the reason aliens weren't part of this, could you expand on that."

"See! Look at her, she's brilliant!"

Rose gave an even brighter smile at her friend, elbowing him in the side, before turning toward Cathica for her answer.

"I don't know really, there are a bunch of threats. Usual stuff that just built up. The price of space warp doubled, so that kept the visitors away. Then the government on Chavic Five collapsed, there was that dust storm, just things, that's all."

The Doctor looked mostly thoughtful, "All adding up to one great fact, and you hadn't even noticed..."

"Doctor, I think that if there was any kind of conspiracy, Satellite Five would have seen it. We see everything."

"That's almost as ridiculous as Statten's claim that he owned the internet. The sure arrogance in that claim is more than The Doctor's claim that Time Lords are superior to Humans. The Universe is far too great for one little satellite to know it all. Especially true because someone  _must_  be controlling the information, and 'someone' is always  _always_  bias." Able spoke, narrowing his eyes at Cathica, disliking the willful stupidity she displayed. So much for how open minded she'd seemed before, making excuses like that for the company she worked for.

The Doctor went on to add, "It's that kind of attitude that really clues us into what's going on here. The attitudes, the way people think, it's all stunted. Even this technology is held back by something like 100 years. So, Cathica, tell me. Humanity has been set back about ninety years, when did Satellite Five start to broadcast?"

"Ninety One years ago." She replied reluctantly.

Rose shook her head, "Someone had to have noticed. Ninety One years of corruption, and the entire Universe watching..."

"I'll bet you anything that money's involved. Makes the Satellite go around." Able alluded.

The Doctor went back to messing with the wires after that, both Rose and Able watching him work. Cathica was looking around anxiously, hoping that no one came into the room in that moment. She was clearly getting him and more agitated.

 _That is the sight of a working mind_ , Able thought to himself, allowing a grin to cross his face.

"This has nothing to do with me! I'm going back to work." Cathica said before promptly changing her mind, "I can't just leave can I..."

"Why is it so hot in here... You would think that year 200,000 we could get decent air conditioning." Rose mentioned, giving a significant look toward The Doctor, the two met eyes for a moment, and Rose quickly broke contact.

The Doctor quickly hide the sadness that action gave him, and went into a manic grin, "Exactly! Look at you Rose Tyler, asking all the right questions. Why is it so hot?"

Suddenly, there was a schematic on the screen of the station, detailing all the floors and passage ways. Immediately, Able's eyes caught something interesting.

"Ohhhh, I see it." Able mentioned, nodding his head toward the pad.

The Doctor pointed it over to Rose and the reporter, "There are Satellite Fives pipes, all the plumbing, look at the layout here."

"This is ridiculous. You've got access to the computer's core, you can look through the achieves, the news, the stock exchange, you could destroy the Empire with this, and you want to look at the pipes?" Cathica asked, her incredulousness clear.

"The ventilation system, cooling ducts, ice filters, all of it working to channel the air downward." Rose said, after looking at the diagram for awhile.

The Doctor practically jumped in the air, "Yes! That's what I'm saying! Why? Why would they do that, it doesn't make any sense. Something up there must be generating tons of heat though, so let's find out." The Doctor was bouncing on his toes, extremely similar to the way Able did, and that frenzied grin still upon his face.

"You can't, you need a key." Cathica pointed out stubbornly.

"The keys are just codes, and I have access to the codes right here. There we go, override two one five point nine, annnnnd opened." The Doctor said as things flashed along the screen in tandem, "A bit fast though, even for me. I suppose someone up there has a crush on me."

"Have you see you?" Able teased, keeping it friendly.

The Doctor gave Able a raised eyebrow, and turned toward the lift, "Right then, you lot."

"No way!" Cathica protested.

"Bye!" The Doctor said waving to her sarcastically.

Able clicked his tongue in thought, "I think it's probably best that we don't go together. Like you said, someone up there likes you. Not the best sign. I'll stick with Cathica just in case. Besides, maybe I can get through her thick head."

...

...

...

"You've started thinking. I can tell." Able said, looking directly at Cathica.

"It's all just, so insane. You've got to be making it up." The dark-skinned woman said defensively, "There's no way that we could have unintentionally fooled the entire Universe."

"You didn't, just the gullible beings. The clever ones, they know not to listen to news and take it as fact. I doubt that changed in the last 200,000 years." Able paused for a second, before pointing out logically, "What you need is to stop thinking with that weirdly fanatical devotion you have for this place. Nothing is perfect."

Cathica looked offended, but just a layer farther in, you could see the cogs in her mind turning.

"I'm going to go look for our missing team member, had to leave Rosie and The Doctor alone so that they could talk... Best get the 'Time Sick' Adam before be causes any issues. I'm sure that The Doctor wouldn't be opposed to someone like you going to help him figure it out, as long as she has more than mush behind pretty eyes." Able gave the woman a teasing smile, showing he hadn't meant anything by it, before walking off.

Smiling when he heard the lift start up again.

Typically in a new place, people don't wander that far from where they knew. So, Adam was most likely in one of the places that they'd already been too. First, Able checked the cafeteria like area, and when he didn't find Adam there, went toward the reporting room that they'd visited.

Upon opening the door, Able heard Adam's voice calling out, "Three... Two... One... Spike!"

...

...

...

The air in the lift was awkward, the two friends shifting uncomfortably. Rose looking around uncertainly, well The Doctor frantically kept his emotions under control.

"It's not that I don't like you." Rose stated suddenly, drawing The Doctor's eyes, "I just, I told Able that I wouldn't be able to look at you and not remember what you did... What you did was wrong. That's plain and simple, and I just..."

"Rose Tyler, you and that Lover of yours are amazing human beings with such capabilities in forgiveness." The Doctor added solemnly, in one of the few moments he wasn't showing the blonde his mask, "I just wanted to protect you."

"I won't forget." Rose stated simply, hoping The Doctor understood.

By the gravity of the sorrow in his eyes, he did.

"We'll be the best of friends, traveling the Universe, seeing the best most amazing things. Experiencing things that no one else has." Rose stated quickly after, giving The Doctor an almost sly smile, "Only after my apology trip, though."

"'I'm sure you'll think of something amazing." The Doctor stated, pushing his sadness down in favour of excitement, "Now, let's figure this thing out, shall we?"

The lift doors clicked open, and the heavy emotional atmosphere that was charged between the two of them diminished as they looked around the 500th floor. It was underwhelming, considering the walls weren't made of gold. Rose had actually believed Cathica's statement, how would she know otherwise, this was year 200,000 after all. A bit farther in, and the two were greeted with the sight of a white haired man with deep electric blue eyes pacing around.

"I started without you. This is fascinating really. Satellite Five contains every piece of information within the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. Birth certificates, shopping habits, bank statements, and you two, you don't exist! That's not even mentioning Able down there, if the reports are truth, he's almost a myth, a clever little tale, yet supposedly there he is." The man turned around suddenly and faced both The Doctor and Rose head on, "Not a trace of the two of you, not even the slightest kiss, and you travel with a myth. How to talk through life and not leave a single footprint..."

Rose caught someone familiar looking out of the corner of her eye and dashed forward, despite The Doctor warning her otherwise, "Suki! Suki!"

Suki, the girl who'd been promoted to Floor 500 not even an hour ago, frozen and her hands placed in the computer console, part of the network now, and nothing more.

"She's dead, Rose." The Doctor said as flatly as possible, walking over to stand next to Rose in case something happened, "They're using the chip in her head to make her brain work as a processor even after her body has given out."

"That's horrible..." Rose spoke breathlessly, staring at the body of the girl with horror in her eyes, unable to look away.

The Doctor wondered what he was doing. Here was Rose, who was so bright, the sun practically, and he drug her along with him. Now she was seeing all the great things, but all the horrible stuff that went along with it. How many times had this nineteen year old human seen someone die because The Doctor wanted to bring her along? The Able was a different story in quite a few ways. Able came to the TARDIS broken, but Rose was breaking with every trip just a little more, chipping away at the innocent soul that was within.

The Time Lord felt immeasurable guilt, no matter what he did, there always seemed to be some life on his hands.

The Able would understand though.

The Doctor felt wanton for his friend there, for their minds touching, for that comfort that he got. The comfort he was willing to ignore Able's growing feelings for, he was able to ignore his urge to run for, a feeling that he so needed now, especially with Rose being 'unable to forget'. Most of all though, he wanted to feel the touch on his mind that had been broken apart by the destruction of his planet, his mind that used to have billions of connections to his species, now empty aside from the TARDIS and occasionally The Able.

The white haired man had a smirk on his face, but it was empty, "Now, it's so rare for me not to know something. Who are you two?"

Rose was still looking at Suki, helplessly trying to wake her, leaving The Doctor to face their current enemy, "It doesn't matter, because we're off. Nice to meet you."

The Doctor reached down and grabbed Rose's arm, shocking her out of the mourning and trying to get her to stand up. To Rose's credit, she quickly came through with an understanding of the situation and looked to The Doctor for instructions as they tried to move –

They were grabbed by the 'computer' that was Suki and several other dead reporters, held there. Rose couldn't help the shocked and disgusted gasp that left her mouth as the cold hands wrapped around her.

"Tell me who you are!" The white haired man stated insistently.

The Doctor couldn't help but think the humans overall demeanor reminded him as a whole of The Master. The similarities were rather uncanny, and that just but The Doctor even more on edge, "Since that information is what's keeping us alive, I'm hardly going to go saying it, am I?"

"Well then, perhaps my Editor in Chief can convince you otherwise."

"Who is that exactly?" The Doctor stated.

The sort of calm back and forth between enemies, the nearly bantering way they were going back and forth. So much like The Master. The Time Lord could actually feel himself being rather nostalgic for his old enemy.

"It may interest you to know that this is not the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. In fact, it's not actually human at all. It's merely a place where humans happen to live."

The Doctor could hear the growling voice, swearing up a storm at the idea of humans being allowed to live their. The Doctor didn't doubt that the Old Girl hadn't translated that for Rose, darling that she was.

"Yeah, sorry, my client tells me that it's a place that humans are  _allowed_  to live by the kind permission of benefactor." His tone almost hitting an actually apologetic note.

Almost.

The white haired man snapped his fingers and pointed toward the ceiling. The Doctor would have recognized it as one of the Consciousness' had the language not been all wrong. Never mind the fact that the Time Lords had exterminated most of them in the early wars. Times when the Time Lords were warring with the remnants of the Universe before for supremacy. It had been a miracle to find that one on Earth.

"You mean they is what's in charge of Satellite Five?" The Doctor stated, a mix of amazement and disbelief.

"They are in charge of the entire human race." The white haired man spoke, with almost pride at that achievement, "For almost a hundred years mankind has been shaped, guided by my client. My client stifled their ambition, and turned himself into humanities guiding light! The Mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe, or in simpler terms, your Lord and Master."

The Jagrafess roared out in arrogance, yet it's language was so dirty, The Doctor winced at it, wishing the TARDIS wasn't translating all of that.

"I call him Max." The white haired man spoke, with a small shrug and mad grin.

Cuffs were soon placed on them, despite The Doctor pleading for them to leave Rose alone. Rose had looked touched at this, and had responded in kind, both of them helplessly fighting against their attackers – Especially in the face of the other being put in danger.

"You can't possibly hide something on this scale, someone must have noticed." Rose stated, still pulling on the cuffs, trying to loosen them.

The Doctor sent an appraising look her way – Wishing in that moment he could shatter the rules of time and stop himself from making that mistake with the Dalek so that Rose Tyler could look at him as she had before. Brilliant she was, simply brilliant.

"From time to time, there is someone that speaks out against it. The computer systems allow me inside their brains, I can see what they think, see the smallest hints of doubt, and I can crush it." The man spoke, grinning madly, "And then they just carry on their little lives as though nothing happened. Strutting about downstairs and all over Earth without the slightest clue, thinking they are individuals. Really though, they are just cattle, they always have been. The Jagrafess hasn't changed anything in that respect."

The distaste was oh so familiar, The Doctor knew how to deal with The Master though, which meant this mimicry was nothing comparable, "What's his life span?"

"Three thousand years." The mimic spoke, catching onto The Doctor's meaning.

"That's one hell of a metabolism generating all that heat, which is why Satellite Five is so hot. You pump it out of the creature, channel it downstairs, the Jagrafess get's to stay cool and living with the Satellite acting as it's life support system." The Doctor gave the white haired man a manic grin, "I wonder though, they can't even move, this Jagrafess. Depended on you, it is. You don't think you'd make so much more money if you would just take over for yourself? Just pretending that the Jagrafess was still in charge?"

The white-haired man paused for a moment, angry roars in the background erupted, but The Doctor could tell that the seed had been planted.

"Yes Sir." The white-haired mimic spoke toward the ceiling before turning back toward The Doctor, "Max is getting quite frustrated. You're an unknown, and that's why you are so dangerous. Knowledge is power after all."

Suddenly, pain erupted through their bodies. The Doctor grimced and clenched his teeth. Rose on the other hand, screamed in pain, not at all as used to pain as the Time Lord was, and therefore had a lower tolerance. Maybe The Doctor could go through the torture for awhile, but he wouldn't allow Rose to go through it, nor would he allow Able if he'd been there.

"Stop! Leave her alone!" The Doctor screamed, and the pain faded, "I'm The Doctor and this is Rose Tyler, we're nothing, just wondering."

"Just wondering with a myth in your presence? I'd sooner believe in the Bad Wolf." The white-haired man grinned out.

"I'm telling the truth! I wouldn't risk my companions health because of something like that." The Doctor reasoned, keeping his tone level.

"Maybe, but who do you work for? Who sent you? What's your relation to The Able? Who knows about us? Who exactly –" The man paused for a moment, and gained a gleam to his eye, "Time Lord."

"What?" The Doctor gasped, wondering how he'd come about that knowledge? The Able? No, the ginger cared too much for his Lover and the Time Lord, so what?

"Oh yes! The last of the Time Lords in his traveling machine. Oh, with his little human girl and the mysterious The Able as well. Oh, the myth is a Time Traveler that certainly explains it..." The white-haired male spoke, reaching over toward Rose's cheek.

Rose spat at him, the spit hitting their jailer right on his left eye.

He wiped it from his eye and slapped her right across the face, The Doctor jerked at the action, wanting to defend the blonde, and the restrains strained for a moment, the Time Lords advanced strength almost doing them in.

"Now, where was I... Oh yes! Time Travel."

The Doctor gritted his teeth, and forced himself to stay calm, "I have no idea what you're talking about. Someone's been telling you lies."

"Young Mister Adam Mitchell?" The blue-eyed man asked, snapping his fingers causing a projection to appear on screen, showing Adam with his brain open withering in pain from the journalists' terminal.

Rose stared in disbelief, "Oh my god, how could he do this – I'm sorry, Doctor." Her gone coated in guilt, having been the one to insist Adam came.

"It's not your fault, it's his." The Doctor hissed, his eyes lighting in anger. This stupid, stupid human was putting the TARDIS in danger, the only thing that The Doctor had left of his people. The Time Lords oldest and most faithful companion –

Smugly, the mimic went on to state, "I now know everything about you. Every piece of information in his head is now mind. You have infinite knowledge, Doctor. The Human Empire is tiny compared to what you have seen in your T-A-R-D-I-S, TARDIS."

"You'll never get your hands on her, I'll die first." The Doctor spat.

"Die all you like, I don't need you, I've got the key."

" _Well, this is interesting. Cathica didn't experience pain like this when she did it. I suppose that might mean the connection is going the other way. You've made a mistake dear Adam, and a phone as well. Planned on making a quick penny huh. Statten would be proud."_ A familiar voice could be heard, emanating from the screen, and the TARDIS key had floated upward, but was grabbed by thin fingers and a familiar figure, " _What's this? Red's key... Oh dear Adam, you greedy little thing, you've put my Lover and The Doctor in danger, haven't you_."

The Doctor let out a sigh of relief the second he'd heard the first syllable. The Able wouldn't let anything happen to the TARDIS, having someone that he could trust, knowing that The Able would take care of the situation, it felt good. That didn't help the situation all that much though, The Doctor knew he needed to get himself and Rose free.

But the TARDIS was safe, and it meant so much.

" _You_   _know Adam, I'm suddenly feeling really curious about what might happen to you if I just_..." Able's voice said, before the ginger grabbed Adam's ankle and pulled him violently from the chair. The connection broke, and there was silence from the other side. Adam form was still, at least unconscious, at most... " _You didn't quite deserve a gentle dismantling anyway, considering._   _Well then, let's get us back to Red. Not that you deserve to be on board her_."

Rose yelped in alarm, watching her best friend treating Adam so roughly, ultimately unsure if it was anywhere near deserved. Nothing actually happened, only the potential had been there, and who knew would could have happened, if Adam was dead... She wasn't sure she could forgive Able. Rose tried to hide her anxiety and worry as she simply glared at their captor.

Everyone in the room watched as the ginger practically dragged Adam out of the room and toward the TARDIS.

The Doctor gained a toothy grin as his favourite ginger faded from sight, "You were saying, about having the key?"

"Well, I suppose all myths have bits of truth to them. I suppose we'll simply have to take care of you, then take the TARDIS by force."

The Time Lord just continued to grin, not at all worried about the apes getting into his TARDIS, the technology didn't exist here. Not for billions of years would they even come close. Suddenly an chirping alarm sounded, startling all of them to attention.

"What's happening?" The white-haired man spluttered, "Someone's disengaged the safety."

A snap later, Cathica was shown sitting in a chair with the compressed information flowing into her brain. The Doctor and Rose both looked relieved and happy to see the woman. Clearly Able had gotten through to her, or perhaps, she got through to herself.

"Who's that?" The man spoke frantically and in disbelief.

"That's Cathica!" Rose explained sarcastically, but looking utterly delighted.

The Doctor looked similarly inclined, "Look at her, the clever girl, using what she knows. She's tapped into the stuff we talked about, the pipes and filters, The life support system is about to crash, because of one clever little human."

The operators tried to stop her, but Cathica was far too determined. The computer exploded, and Cathica would live, and she had succeeded where billions of humans had failed. The Doctor loved that sort of thing, the little people having big impacts. He could literally feel the fixed point in time sliding into place as the human raced went back toward their true path of the Great and Bountiful Human Empire.

Rose got loose and dug around in The Doctor's pockets, not finding the time to be awkward as she pulled out the sonic screwdriver and pointed it toward the cuffs. Not a second later, they clicked open. Rose was glad that she'd learned to use the sonic in the months they'd been traveling together – Now it was bittersweet, like hours upon hours wasted in something that ended up being  _nothing_.

Soon enough, they were off, intending on making their way toward the TARDIS, but The Doctor couldn't resist, "Oi, mate, wanna bank on a certainty? Angry, free Doctor, massive heat, massive body, and no one in the mood to save you... Massive bang! See you in the headlines!"

...

...

...

"You fantastic human!" The Doctor exclaimed the second he saw Able standing in front of him. The ginger was leaning against 'Red' waiting for the other time travelers to return. Before Able could even blink, he was held in an embrace, "Fantastic, The Able, thank you."

The heartwarming words were made heavier as The Doctor pressed into Able's mind gently, showing just how sincerely thankful he was for the ginger being there to protect the TARDIS. Able returned the feelings with a similar wave of emotions, and fell into the hug, squeezing The Doctor before pulling away.

He didn't want to distress Rose any – The blonde knew that Able had a thing for The Doctor. Able was sure of that. Which meant Able couldn't try anything even if he wanted to, not until the two of them had forgiven each other for the hurt caused, and only when those wounds healed... If even that.

Able kept the mental connection though, Rose wouldn't see it, so what harm could it do.

He sent across his feelings of worry for The Doctor and Rose when they had been captured, the spike of panic he had felt when he saw what Adam had been doing. The fiercely protective emotions that escaped along with the anger at what Adam had done.

"Is he okay?" Rose suddenly asked, breaking up the intimate sharing.

Able clicked his tongue, and said to Rose, "Sadly. Putting my Lover and our Doctor at risk, what was he thinking."

"What will you do with that friend of yours?" Cathica asked, jumping into the conversation.

"He's not my friend." The Doctor said, and anger swam through the connection, understandable anger that Able shared, though not to the same extent. Able's anger was less about the TARDIS and more about The Doctor and Rose.

Able quickly sent an apology to Red, who was only just faintly connected to the human Rift's mind.

"Actually, if it's any consolation, I think pulling him from that machine like I did fried quite a few brain cells. I doubt he's even capable of planning something like that again. A good enough punishment as any." There was a sense of vindication with that.

Rose winced, "Maybe we should just get him home as soon as possible and just leave him there."

"What do you mean? I want to come with you." Adam said, looking innocent.

The Doctor just grabbed the man by the shoulder and pushed him into the TARDIS none too gently, breaking the connection with Able as he did so. Rose and Able followed after without much pause other than a simple goodbye and thank you to Cathica.

The Doctor had never driven Red so smoothly and quickly as he had in that moment. Within five minutes, Adam was dropped off in his own century and The Doctor didn't look back, just scrambled the guys phone, clicked his fingers rather cruelly, and headed back into Red.

Rose looked a bit put off by it, but she also couldn't help but understand that someone stealing the TARDIS, The Doctor's home, was a big offense. She also got in the TARDIS without another word to Adam.

Able had never left when they dropped the guy off. He didn't deserve that courtesy.

"Tomorrow it's my pick." Rose suddenly chimed in as the TARDIS hit the vortex for the day.

The Doctor seemed suitably calmed at this point, "That it is, pick well Rose Tyler."

Rose graced the two of them with a small smile before heading toward her room. Able couldn't help but think that their friendship was starting to become more and more strained the longer they spent with The Doctor, at least on Rosie's side. What a helpless situation, since Able hadn't done anything but be himself. The trouble they got in just happened to display his more undesirable traits.

"You call my blue TARDIS Red, huh?" The Doctor suddenly asked, interrupting the light brooding.

This was more than likely purposeful. As Able had grown to know The Doctor well, The Doctor had grown to know the ginger.

Able gave The Doctor a teasing grin, "Well, I like being slightly contrary. Besides, I think she likes it."

"The Old Girl really has taken a liking to you. Helping you with your sonic, letting you call her Red of all things." The Doctor said, amusement clear.

"She's put a drivers manual on my bedside table. Think she's trying to tell me something?" Able spoke, alluding to The Doctor's driving skill.

"Oi! I'll have you know that manual is utter rubbish. Threw it into the nearest super nova and never looked back." The Time Lord spoke, looking honestly proud of himself.

Able shook his head with a chuckle, before giving The Doctor a friendly tease, "The Doctor, you really are something else. I'm off to bed, but if you want to join me..."

The Doctor gasped and put a hand to his heart as thought hurt, "You think I'm easy?! I'll have you know The Able, I don't put out like that."

The two went their separate ways after that. It struck Able just how hard it was to try not to go after The Doctor. The man was simply too brilliant for his own good. The Doctor couldn't help but frown down at his feet at just about the same time, wondering why it was that he didn't feel like running. Awkward and hurt as he was about Rose, he wanted to stay, wanted to continue, and for the first time in a good 700 years, he felt weirdly content just letting things play out.

**R &R**

**Alright, so the changes in Rose's character making her stronger and more moral are due to her being friends with Able for years. As for Able and The Doctor, I'm having a few issues writing their relationship without accidentally fucking with Rose. I've worked hard on my Rose character to make her strong and likable, a big and important part of the story despite the fact there is an OC. Please let me know if I have still accomplished that.**

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:**  I don't own anything that I've written. Yep, that's right, I own not even one iota of the below work.

 **Summary:**  Able is an actual doctor, and so, so much more. We all know 'The Doctor' does have a pendent for running into impossible things - and if Able was anything, he was an impossible thing. (A twist on the usual OC and The Doctor formula has original ideas and later on, canon divergence. M/M)

 **Warnings:**  This is a Doctor Who fic, so I doubt any of the readers will turn down reading this just because it's slash. After all, we have the canon Jack Harkness. (Who deserves a warning all on his own.) Canon typical violence, language, and later on there will probably be more explicit sexual content.

 **Authour Note:**  I've noticed that a lot of OC stories tend to avoid doing this episode in particular. So, obviously, I have to attempt to tackle the episode and show it who's boss. I'm wondering if I rushed the ending a bit too much. Probably could have been better flushed out, but what can you do?

I choose the spelling of Able's name purposely, but not being able to use the word able because Able's name is Able has been an interesting challenge because I really like the word able. See what I did there? It was adorable, wasn't it?

**Chapter Nine: Father's Day**

...

_The Doctor had never driven Red so smoothly and quickly as he had in that moment. Within five minutes, Adam was dropped off in his own century and The Doctor didn't look back, just scrambled the guys phone, clicked his fingers rather cruelly to open his brain, and headed back into Red._

_Rose looked a bit put off by it, but she also couldn't help but understand that someone stealing the TARDIS, The Doctor's home, was a big offense. She also got in the TARDIS without another word to Adam._

_Able had never left when they dropped the guy off. He didn't deserve that courtesy._

_"Tomorrow it's my pick." Rose suddenly chimed in as the TARDIS hit the vortex for the day._

_The Doctor seemed suitably calmed at this point, "That it is, pick well Rose Tyler."_

...

Able took the few days break after the Satellite Five situation to work on his sonic and bond farther with the Alereros.

Adding things into the sonic took Able a lot of time – The technology was at its base, far too advanced for the ginger to be comfortable. He had to carefully research everything he did for hours to make sure he wouldn't accidently blow up his wrist. The setting he was currently working on was incredibly intensive because it was basically going through the technology advances in computers and bringing the sonics level up toward that, programming in the 'work around'.

Thinking of all the work it would take gave Able a headache, but he was determined to at least get to the 200,000 this month.

Able also took a smaller amount of time to program a setting to check A.I for life, in other words – Able made a setting to check for technology which could pass the Turing Test or equivalent. He'd thought it up when in Statten's museum and only just a few hours ago got around to making it.

When working, Able connected his mind to his Alereros, who played a soft music corresponding to Able's mood.

"You're looking hard at work."

Able turned quickly, facing The Doctor who was leaning against the door way with his leather clad arms crossed, his expression rather even. The music halted as well, the shock breaking the ginger from the empathic bond.

"The Doctor! Come into my room in the dead of night, I wonder what he could want..." Able thought out-loud, grinning and making the underlying meaning extremely apparent.

"Did you guess that I came here because I get enjoyment out of your little ape mind struggling with concepts far beyond his understanding?" The Doctor asked, but he was grinning.

"You know, if I was decent from any ape, it would be Bonobo's." Able gave a little smirk.

Bonobo were a species of Great Ape that, although endangered, where known for having a large amount of sex. This, as well as their loose habits as far as what gender they choose to do sexual acts with. Whether or not that was scientifically proven was a different matter, it was the reputation that mattered most for the joke.

The Doctor snorted, "I could have guessed, it is you we are talking about, The Enabler."

"Could you stop bringing up my title?" Able grit out, feeling a flush of shame rise to his cheeks.

Heat in the moment pick that it had been, pretending to be the same species as The Doctor, Able couldn't bring himself to not claim the title now. It just clicked into place in Able's mind, because it was him. He literally was  _The Enabler_. It wasn't something he could quite explain, but it was just as good as Able's name. Of course, the ginger hadn't had thought of what his full name had been in years, instead told everyone that he only had one of the human typical two through five names typical for humans. That might have had something to do with it as well.

"You're the one that picked it." The Doctor stated, almost harshly, probably unhappy about remembering Able putting himself in danger by doing so.

Able grimaced, "That's because it fits me well, too well. I don't mind you using it all that much... Just - actually you know what, help yourself. What do I care about what strangers think of the title."

Better to get used to it, considering that trait wasn't leaving Able anytime soon.

The Doctor searched Able for any hesitation or remaining discouragement. When he found none, The Doctor grinned that manic grin of his, "You know... It doesn't have to be all about encouraging bad behaviors. The word enabler has more than one definition, the other being  _a person who makes something possible_."

"Compliments will get you anywhere you want to go. I won't even make you beg." Able shot back, but the grateful smile softened the almost reproach.

The Time Lord clapped his hands together as though to draw attention, "Alright then, The Able, it has occurred to me that we haven't looked into your... Situation thoroughly enough for my liking. We need more comprehensive tests."

" _Situation_ , huh?" Able repeated to himself, but agreed wholeheartedly with The Doctor, "Alright, after Rosie's little adventure then. I have a question for you though, The Doctor, how does telepathy and empathy work? How can I have a sort of... Advantage in it, when Rose can't even feel Red?"

"You apes usually aren't apt in things like telepathy – Takes brain power your race typically isn't capable of. Some individuals who have the brain power for it or are shown telepathy at a young age grow accustomed to it and are able to use it proficiently... On a human level." The Doctor explained, his tone rather even, despite the fact he'd said quite a few disparaging things.

If anything through, Able looked interested, almost excited, "Your brain is different from a typical human brain? Is it kept somewhere else? Does it have the same make up? Are you like a leech, got 32 brains stuffed in that body of yours somewhere? Neurons, hemispheres, the like? Oh and that relates back to something I was curious about since I first got on Red, how are our races so outwardly similar considering the different planets. The chances are... So small taking them into account would be the mark of an idiot."

"A leech?" The Doctor said, looking incredulous and almost amused, "Never change The Enabler, you are something else. Well, Rose will be getting up soon so we don't have time to answer all of your questions."

"If you didn't want to answer you could have just said that." Able spoke his tone rather blunt, "Rosie won't wake up for at least another hour, I know my Lover well."

"No need to talk about Time Lord biology, it has weight beyond your human understanding." The Doctor stated harshly before stalking out of the room.

Able accepted it.

Of course, after that, he rationalized it.

The Doctor wouldn't want to talk about his race, the man himself had stated that he was the only one left. This was something that probably should have occurred to Able when he'd asked the Time Lord.

...

...

...

"I'm hoping you can take me to go see my father, you know, when he was still alive... He died 1987, 7th of November, that is." Rose requested, looking awkward, almost melancholy as she did so. A stark contrast to her usually bright, sunny self.

The Doctor was sitting down in the chairs near the console, looking at Rose with clear surprise on his face, "Where's this come from, all of the sudden?"

"It's really the only place I would want to request. Everything is amazing, but there is nothing else that will have a personal impact on me... " Rose shared, turning her honest, wide-eyes toward both The Doctor and Able, "If it goes against laws of time or something, I'll leave it alone, and I will still forgive you, it's just..."

Able was slightly worried about the idea. He almost hoped that The Doctor would state that it was against the laws of time, even though the ginger was almost certain it wasn't. This was because the blue-eyed male knew Rose, and if she saw her father, could talk to him, give him a sign, she would take that chance. She would do that for anybody she knew was going to die – It wasn't completely about personal interest – somehow though, that didn't make the situation better. Time was usually in flux, but if Rose changed something so fundamental about herself... Able might not have ever become her friend and lover.

What would have become of the ginger, if not for that bright presence in his life?

"No, I can do anything... I'm more worried about you." The Doctor stated giving Rose an almost soft look, full of his emotions for the girl, before it was placed under that manic grin, "Your wish is my command, but be careful what you wish for."

"I want to see him." She said, and her face glowed. Able wouldn't have been willing to resist that look, so he couldn't expect The Doctor too either.

The Doctor got up and adjusted the dials on the console, and they were off. The trip was smoother than it usually was, probably because it wasn't a big trip, going only a few years before both Rose and Able's linear time. When they got out of the TARDIS, they could all see the church in the distance. It only took a few minutes to walk there. Once they arrived, you could see Rose's parents, Pete and Jackie, and they were getting married. Able had never seen Jackie look that happy before, and couldn't resist the small smile that rose to his lips. The marriage seemed like a smaller, intimate ceremony, and despite the fact Able didn't typically believe in marriage, he couldn't help but find the whole thing adorable.

"They are adorable, Lover." Able admitted, his tone bordering on amused.

Rose looked on the edge of tears, "Look at how happy mum is..."

"She's just as happy with you." Able stated firmly, really not wanting her to get any ideas that erased her from his timeline.

The Doctor just watched on out of the corner of his eye. He had been sort of avoiding looking at Able after he'd needlessly snapped at the ginger. Plus, this situation was far too... Domestic for his liking. All that aside, he was also worried about Rose and what this trip could mean for her – only hoping that it came out all right with time still intact.

The danger was worth her forgiveness, even if they couldn't go back to what they were. The Doctor liked his companions and their forgiving and accepting qualities. But even to himself, he wouldn't dare to say that he  _needed_  them after what happened in the past few hundred years of his life.

"I want to be there for him." Rose suddenly stated, "I don't want him to die alone."

Able closed his eyes briefly, "Lover, I'm not so sure it's a good idea for you to do this." No matter what it was she was planning on doing.

The Doctor looked at his companions, and seeing the determined glow in Rose's eyes, conceded, "November 7th 1987 you said?"

The smile he got back was heartbreaking, but worth it. They all jogged back to the TARDIS, and the Time Lord started to activate the TARDIS without another thought, bringing them to the desired location with a few clicks of the finger. Rose was the one to walk out the doors first, hesitantly as it was. It was a sunny day, just normal all things considered, blue sky, nice weather...

"That's so weird. The day my father died... I thought it'd be all sort of grim and story, it's just an ordinary day." Rose commented, her tone was melancholy.

"Someone dies every seven or so seconds of everyday." Able interjected, getting a glare from his blonde.

"That's not something I need to hear right now." Rose hissed out.

"Are you sure about this?" The Doctor asked, before his companions could start an argument.

"Yes." The raw and pure determination she was expressing was enough to make either The Doctor or Able want to move mountains. So, they made their way down the street toward the area that Peter Tyler let his unfortunate end. They stood there, watching as Peter got out of his car, not thinking anything of what would happen to him next. Not even thinking anything could go wrong – He was just married, he was happy, and why would he even think of the possibilities?

"Oh god, this is it." Rose said, covering her mouth with her hand, her eyes misting over.

Able watched the whole thing, watched the body collide with the car, and he could see the mathematics at work which would case Peter Tyler's death. A cold approach to look at something like this, especially since it was Rosie Tyler's father.

"Go to him, quickly now." The Doctor said to Rose, but she was frozen, staring ahead with silent tears running down her face.

Five minutes later, tears were dried, but the mistake had been made, "It's too late now, be the time the ambulance got here, he was already dead..."

The Doctor just watched her quietly, not really knowing what to say.

"Can we do it again? Properly this time?"

Able could feel himself in that moment, and he knew what choice The Doctor would make, because it was already happening. Two different Human Rift's in one place, but the same Rift, the same person. It was like looking through two different sets of eyes at once, and Able could see himself standing with Rose and The Doctor as the care approached, even as the first group of them were doing what had already happened.

If it sounded confusing, it's because time really wasn't meant to be understood by human minds. Even Able, experiencing it, couldn't fully understand it. That was coming from Able probably the most likely in the Universe to fully understand time as a human.

"Right, that is our first sets of ourselves." The Doctor said.

Able switched between eyes again and again, flickering through the different perspectives between seconds, milliseconds, and it was far too distracting. The Doctor was a presence which helped to ground Able but there were two Doctor's, and it wasn't much of a help.

"You don't have to do anything, but I won't risk a third set of ourselves here." The Doctor stated sternly, finally putting his foot down, "The Able, are you okay?"

Of course The Doctor would notice, but which Doctor was it?

"Rift is time, I'm literally in both places right now." Able tried to explain, but ultimately fell short. The Doctor however, understood perfectly, and just nodded as though he'd perfectly understood the inaccurate and human explanation of time.

Then, Rose was running.

The Doctor was yelling.

Able had a headache that wouldn't go away, he couldn't move even if he wanted to, he kept switching between 'bodies' every millisecond, it was a miracle he'd been able to explain what was going on to The Doctor. Then, time snapped and Able could feel it, he was in one body again, and the ginger frantically looked around, wondering what he missed – Feeling a sense of urgency.

Especially when The Doctor was watching what happened with flat horror.

Memories flooded into Able's mind, and there were two timelines instead of the one he'd lived. One with Pete Tyler living, and a distinctive lack of Rose Tyler in Able's life. When the Rift was Able's only bond, and when that was no longer there... There was no Doctor, there was nothing to hold him down to life. He'd gone through several attempts to kill himself, so many different, painful ways.

It never worked.

Rose Tyler, the girl who was so selfless and selfish all at once.

Did she even think of the possibilities when she saved her father? Did she even think about the person who was meant to be her best friend? Then again, she was perfectly alright with sacrificing him for someone she'd met only a few hours ago. Sure, Able had forgiven her for the Gwyneth situation, but here Rosie was, repeating the same mistake.

No, not Able, being Able hurt, he was The Enabler for now, a way to distance himself.

The Enabler smiled, and pushed down his feelings. At least Rosie was happy, and he was outside of time, just the same as he was time, and remembered what happened in both times. The danger was superficial to him, and Rosie would be happier.

The ginger could feel The Doctor's mind pressing gently against his, and Enabler curled up around the presence, sending his emotions to the Time Lord, knowing well that The Doctor could handle them. He had when Able lost the Original Rift, so he could this time.

As expected, he received warm feelings back, but they were hesitant, and beneath it all was the sense of horror and worry.

Able knew that what was changed was a fixed point just from the way he felt time snap around him, but somehow The Doctor was so worried, the ginger was starting to believe this would be a bigger issue than he'd thought.

...

...

...

All of them went with the living Peter Tyler, both The Doctor and The Enabler silently, almost passively following Rose's lead for the timing being. The connection between The Doctor and The Enabler allowed the ginger to know that the Time Lord was slowly switching form horrified and worried to angry. If the blue-eyed male had been anyone else, he probably would have as well.

Instead he just accepted, and he could feel The Doctor's amazement at the fact.

"All the stuff of his that mum kept. She'd put it all in the cupboard, and here it is, on display, where it  _should_  be." Rose said, walking around the small apartment. Rose continued to point things out, "Tonics mum used to call them. He made his money selling this stuff, he had all sorts of jobs, clever as he is. Solar power stuff as well, mum said he was going to do this – Now he can."

There was silence, and Rose looked toward both the ginger, and The Doctor. Her eyes told you she knew she'd done something wrong, but there wasn't even a hint of regret.

The Enabler felt a pang of hurt at this, but once again, just accepted it – Ignoring the look The Doctor gave him.

The connection broke between them, and The Enabler was the one to pull away, rare as that was between them.

"When we met, I said 'travel with me in space' and you, unlike The Able, said no." The Doctor theorized practically spitting, "Then I said she was a time machine. I've gone and done it again, haven't I. I picked another  _moronic_  ape when I should have known. For you, it's not ever about showing you the Universe – It's all about what the Universe can do for  _you._ "

"It's not like that, it wasn't some big plan." Rose tried to explain before getting a bit angry as well, "Besides, how is it okay for you to go around saving people's lives, doing amazing things, but it's not okay for me to save  _one_  person. One person who matters to me so much, my dad..."

"Don't be an idiot Rosie." The Enabler cut in, feeling tired, "You are a nineteen year old that knows  _nothing_  about time, whereas The Doctor is a  _Time Lord_. Even knowing that some things were fixed points, that some things couldn't be changed, you still tried to do it. You still tried to change time, and you didn't think of the consequences. We aren't friends anymore Rose, with your father alive, and that is just  _one_  of the changes."

"One human being, one human that is alive when they weren't meant to be, that's all it takes." The Doctor explained, as he would to an idiot that he at the moment viewed Rose to be, "Two sets of us being here created a vulnerable point in time, and you decided to poke a hole in it. Maybe even worse, you didn't even think about The Able! He's not a regular human anymore, this could have completely destroyed him!"

"But my dad's alive!" Rose explained, and The Enabler knew, understood that she just wouldn't be able to get it. The danger to the Universe didn't matter to her in the face of someone she cared about. She'd shown that time and time again, willing to risk the needs of the many for the needs of the one she cared about.

Somehow that individual was never The Enabler.

"My whole planet is dead, my entire family, do you think it never occurred to me to go back and save them?" The Doctor tried to reason.

"It's not like it changed much. Able doesn't have me a friend, but that's okay because he's here and he remembers before." Rose reasoned, "Besides, my dad is not a world leader, isn't going to start World War III or anything."

The Doctor actually softened a bit when he saw she was getting frantic to explain, to reason why she'd done the right thing, and he turned toward The Enabler, who was staring at her rather blankly. Seeing The Doctor's look, the ginger walked over to Rose.

"Listen Lover, there is a man alive in the world that wasn't before. From now on, as long as he's alive, he will take up a spot in line, a spot in traffic, he'll make people late, make them earlier, and that causes a chain reaction that effects the whole  _world_  and it might just be by seconds, but those seconds, they matter." The Enabler tried to explain, keeping it simple as possible.

"What, would you rather him dead?" Rose said, getting offended by the gang up.

"I'd never say that Rosie it's just –"

"No, I get it. For once, the two of you aren't the most important people in my life." Rose yelled.

The Enabler took her anger without complaint. Inaccurate as it was, because after the past few times, he knew with one hundred percent certainty that he was nowhere near important to Rose's life as she just made him out to be. Nowhere near as important as she was to him anyway.

"Give me the key." The Doctor stated, hurt by her anger and accusations, "If I'm so insignificant, give it back."

"Alright then, I will." Rose stated defiantly, reaching into her pocket and handing him the key.

"Right then, you got what you wanted. This is goodbye then..." The Doctor muttered, looking a mixture of hurt and angered, "The Able...?"

The Enabler closed his eyes for a moment. Between the two hurt parties, he cared for them equally. Both had hurt him recently, but only one of them had thrown his friendship away like it meant nothing in the face of changing history. If he had to choose between the two of them, it would be The Doctor, and that wasn't even taking into account the fact that the Time Lord had access to the Universe.

Able shot a sorrowful look toward Rose, but stood next to The Doctor as they both walked out of the apartment.

Rose didn't say anything, just watched heartbroken as both of them left. The gravity of the situation finally appearing, when for the first time, Able choose someone other than her.

...

...

...

"The most dangerous thing in the Universe, pure innocence." The Enabler spoke as they walked along toward the TARDIS.

The Doctor didn't reply, he was practically stalking his way toward the TARDIS with single mindedness that Able hadn't seen in him since the Dalek situation. The ginger was worried for him, the man had been through so much, and he'd just had his trust broken by a girl. This girl that The Enabler was sure that The Doctor had been coming to trust and love.

Able, grabbed The Doctor's hand and created a connection between them. The two stopped moving right in the middle of the street.

' _I wanted the Universe_.' Able spoke in his mind, sending his feelings of awe, admiration, terror, everything that he'd seen and done and hoped to do.

The Doctor forced himself to calm down as Able's voice rang through his mind, ' _I know, you weren't like her, you didn't need time, all you wanted was what I offered... You are fantastic, The Enabler_.' The Doctor replied, sending back gratitude at the comfort he was offered.

' _You know that she didn't mean for this to happen._ ' Able sent back, almost hesitantly, tightening his hold on The Doctor's hand.

The Doctor winced and interlocked his fingers with Able absently, ' _That doesn't change anything._ ' With those words, he showed Able the full extent of his hurt. The pure being that was Rose Tyler, someone he looked to for some sort of... Absolution, and she did something like this, taking advantage of his want to be forgiven and turned it into something... ugly.

Able couldn't accept that.

He could take Rosie hurting him, wanting to sacrifice him, not thinking of their friendship, but her hurting The Doctor so much was not something he thought he could forgive unless the Time Lord himself did.

The ginger sent The Doctor his anger toward Rose, and The Doctor was surprised and almost... Touched? By the force in which the emotion had been felt, ' _Thank you_...'

They just stood there in the middle of the sidewalk, holding hands and trading comforting feelings for an inexpiable amount of time, before they started to jog toward the TARDIS hand in hand, connection strong as ever. Fear twanged through the bond, and neither were sure who it came from, but just as they reached the TARDIS, it reached it's crescendo, forcing the two men to look around in search of what was causing in.

They didn't find anything, and The Doctor turned his key in Red's lock, opened the door, and panic.

The Doctor reached for his bond with the TARDIS, how had he not noticed her being gone from his mind? Too connected to The Able? It didn't make sense, considering how deeply connected Time Lord's were with their TARDIS' if the sentence was allowed to grow. The Doctor ran his hands searchingly around the edges of the now ordinary police box almost desperately.

Able felt heartbroken.

Or was that The Doctor?

The Time Lord stood in the box with shock pained all over his face – It wasn't possible. The Enabler stepped forward and enveloped the man in a light embrace, throwing his arms around the mans shoulders and pushing close, pressing their minds together even closer, 'We'll figure it out, The Doctor, Red must be around, and if she isn't, then we'll get her back.'

The Doctor could feel his shock fading somewhat as he felt the solid presence of Able by his side, and just around him, holding him, trying to comfort him. He subconsciously started to life his arms to complete the embrace, but stopped when something else occurred to him.

"Rose!"

It rang through both of their minds and they sprang apart and started to run, the connection breaking. If something happened to the TARDIS, then Rose might be the next target. No matter what Rose had done, neither male wanted a scratch on her.

...

...

...

"Rose! Get in the church!" The Doctor cried out the second both males dashed close enough for her to hear. Then, something appeared right in front of her, and Able stopped and stared for a second.

Because it appeared out of nowhere, just showed up with a scythe of all things, and Able knew exactly what it looked like. Was that where the theory of grim reapers came from? It flew, and how did it do that? There wasn't any aerodynamic movements –

Able felt his hand being grabbed and felt himself being jerked forward, causing the blue eyes to swirl over. The Doctor was pulling him toward the church as everyone else was pushing their way inside at the sight of the creature. More of them appeared and attacked various people in front of the church, but the second they came in, the attack stopped – The reaper like creatures didn't try to get in.

The Doctor released his hold on me and started to check the doors, taking the chance to speak down to Jackie with the borderline hilarity it deserved.

"Rosie..." Able muttered, shaking his curiosity and taking her hand. She looked shaken by what had happened.

"Nothing in the this Universe can harm those creatures. Time's been damaged beyond its ability to clean itself, so they've come to sterilize the wound." The Doctor started to explain, walking toward his companions, "They'll do that by cleaning this time line completely."

"Is this because... Is this my fault?" Rose asked haltingly.

The Time Lord didn't say anything, just looked at her sharply, and that look said it all. Rose looked away full of guilt and Able just wrapped an arm around her shoulders and tried to be a comforting presence.

"Able... I'm sorry."

Yes Rosie, you always seem to be sorry after the fact, Able thought to himself. Yet, he cared too much for his blonde to not accept it, "Lover, I would always forgive you."

Yet, the exception to the rule might be The Doctor... Able hoped that she didn't push that, because Able didn't want to have to make that choice.

Rose pulled the ginger into a hug and buried her face into Able's neck as tears silently escaped her eyes. Able could tell that Peter was starting to put the pieces together – Rosie was right, he was rather clever. When one of the 'reapers' attached itself to the church momentarily, both time travelers walked over and looked. Something about the church repealed it away. The Doctor had mentioned something about age being an aspect – Churches, as moronic as Able found them as a practice, certainly fulfilled that quality.

So Able was a hypocrite. He liked to think himself open minded, but when it came to religion, usually he found the idea of people believing in an unprovable god to be... Just... Moronic. The ginger tried his best not to allow those thoughts to bias him – Usually he found himself capable of doing so.

Able shook himself from that line of thought, it really wasn't productive to what was currently going on.

"That mate of yours, what he mean when he said this was your fault?" Pete said, coming up from the corner of the human time travelers eyes.

Rose's eyes were still wet, "Dunno... Just... Everything."

"You didn't know, Lover. The Doctor should have said something so that you knew what you could or couldn't do. Doesn't mean you were in the right, because you weren't." Able stated harshly, probably because of the lonely memories or Able killing himself rising to mind, "It also doesn't mean you were completely at fault. Some of the fault does lie with The Doctor."

"What kind of name is The Doctor?" Peter asked, looking completely confused, "Doctor who?"

Able smiled a bit to himself, recalling all the times someone had asked him, Able who? When it came to his own singular name, "He's just The Doctor, first name The, last name Doctor. If it's weird, well, so is the situation we're in."

"Weird, but I suppose it is beside the point. You, I gave you my keys, my car keys, and you don't give your keys to a complete stranger." Pete started, and you could practically see the wheels turning in his mind.

"It's like I trusted you, from the moment I saw you. The Doctor, he calls what happened a wound in time, and you, you called me Dad. I can see it though, you have my eyes, Jackie's attitude, you sound like her when you shout..." Peter leaned forward and touched Rose's cheek with an expression of clear awe, he went to put always, but Rose practically pushed into his hand like a kitten seeking contact.

"You are, you're my Rosie... My girl, all grown up." Peter confirmed, a joyous smile lighting his face.

"You clever man, if you weren't my Rosie's father, I would be so hot right now." Able grinned out, breaking the atmosphere effectively, and getting a snort from Rose. She slapped his arm as she usually did when her friend made a comment like that, but she looked thankful as well.

"I'm also married." Pete said deadpan.

"That's not an issue for me, I assure you."

"Your choice in friends seems nice, Rose." Peter commented, turning back toward his daughter and his eyes which were sparkling with humour switched over to sparkling with love, "My daughter... my beautiful girl, and I get to see you here, like this..."

"Dad..." Rose spoke, her eyes spilling over once again as she pulled the man in for a hug.

Able felt out of place in that moment, so he took that chance to move away from the emotional duo and look for The Doctor. He found him, and it was adorable, but also somewhat hilarious.

"Now little Rose, I should have said this to the older one, but she's too stupid now to get it. You though, you're not going to bring about the end of the world, are you?" He said, in a cooing sort of tone that people typically used for babies.

Able never would have thought he'd hear The Doctor use that sort of tone in regards to an actual child.

"Well that's just adorable, The Doctor. Good with kids?" Able asked, sitting on the opposite side of the baby carriage.

The Doctor looked up at Able for a minute, as though in thought before giving a manic grin, "Babies... All that potential in those small little bodies and innocent eyes. Each of them has the potential to grow up and be great if they have the right parents and upbringing. Sometimes, even in spite of that."

"What are those things?" Able abruptly changed the subject to something more pressing than children.

"Reapers, in your language I suppose, they are temporal predators from the Time Vortex. When time weakens enough, they come out and feed. This also happens to fix time, but that isn't what the Reapers are concerned about. What they want is their fill, because it doesn't happen very often that someone makes a mistake big enough to let them through. The older something is, the longer it takes a Reaper to absorb and feed on it, which is why this church is perfect. Before the war... My people might have been able to stop them, but that's not possible now..." The Doctor paused, looking guilty for a moment.

"So, no way to stop them, no TARDIS to run to, seems like the end." Able mentioned bleakly, "You know, in the timeline that Rose created, I discovered I can't die, at least, not in any usual way. Maybe these Reapers want nothing to do with me."

"Maybe... You are a part of time, not the issue itself. It's plausible that they would completely ignore you even being here. It's also possible that they look at you like a cat looks at cat nip. We won't know until it becomes a problem... Having said that, even if you were ignored, it might not be the best thing." The Doctor spoke, matching Able's tone with his own grim intonation, "If they do ignore you, they will still consume everything around you, until all that is left is the vortex consuming that is left of this time line after the Reapers finish their meal."

"Well, how about one last go at it before the world ends then?" Able grinned toward The Doctor, raising a suggestive eyebrow.

"Humans, the only race in the world that thinks of sex during the end of the world."

"Somehow I doubt that." Able theorized, just as the older Rose started to make her way toward them.

"Lover, I'm assuming you and Peter talked it out then?" Able asked as she stood next to herself as a baby and looked down, almost mesmerized, and her hand started to reach out. The Doctor literally threw himself over the child to stop her.

"Don't touch the baby!"

"Lover, please use that wonderful brain of yours for a moment. Considering what happened last time you changed the past, why would you think touching yourself is a good idea?" Able asked wearily, watching Rose's hands as though scared she might try something again.

Rose just looked down, feeling guilty once again.

"If you were to touch her, you would create another paradox, but this time inside of the church, basically just inviting the Reapers in. Don't want that, because at this point, or at least soon enough, there won't be anywhere safe to go." The Doctor explained, slowly leaning back as Rose took a step back, understanding the situation

"I can't do anything right, can I?" Rose asked rhetorically.

"Since you asked, no. So don't touch the baby." The Doctor emphasized.

Rose's hurt feelings came to the surface once again, and turned to anger, "I'm not stupid."

"You could have fooled me." The Doctor stated harshly, as Able had just pointed out to him moments ago. No TARDIS, no way to defeat the Reapers, and they were facing near certain death. Rose didn't know what she was doing, The Doctor knew that, could forgive that, but not now. Not here, where the situation was still going on and had started because of her.

The TARDIS was gone because of Rose Tyler.

The leather clad 'alien' looked about ready to blow up at her again, but Able grabbed his hand and gave it a light squeeze. The attempt at comfort had the anger drain out of the Time Lord for the time being, but he still pulled away from the contact deliberately.

"Alright, I'm sorry. I wasn't really going to leave you here." The Doctor explained after taking a breath, "This is serious though, between the three, no, four of us counting this little one here, I haven't got a plan. No idea how to get us out of this... It's bad out there, I can feel it. Places like this, old buildings and such, are the only things left of the human race. These walls won't hold forever, they aren't that old, and what started the paradox is in here. There's nothing I can do to stop them."

"You'll think of something, you always do." Rose stated, and she had a surety about her that could convince the gods, "If I'd known, if I'd realized..."

"I know." The Doctor interrupted, "Just tell me your sorry."

"I'm sorry." Rose stated simply, and The Doctor gave her a soft look, and reached over and caressed her cheek. He did so like he was memorizing her, like it was the last time he'd get to see her. It seemed that all was right between those two, Able was grinning as he watched them. Perhaps there was even that familiar pang of jealousy – Despite the fact that the ginger knew nothing romantic was going to continue between them.

The two hugged and Able couldn't resist, "Come on you two, let me in the middle of this."

"Never turn down a hug!" The Doctor stated, keeping one arm wrapped around Rose, but the other opened up to Able, Rose following suit. Within seconds the three where in a lingering group hug.

"Now, if we could just lose our clothing..."

Rose promptly smacked his shoulder in a scolding manner, but her laughter gave it away. Then, Able felt something hot against him, not a contact warmth, but something else entirely, "The Doctor, are you always this hot under the collar when you're with us?"

As Able spoke the tease, he reached into the man's jacket and promptly dropped what he'd pulled out, and reached for his own key, which was also heating up against his skin. The Doctor looked at the key on the floor with so much joy the ginger thought the man might burst. He pulled off his jacket and used it to pick up the key, "It's the TARDIS, she's using the keys to tell us she's still around!"

He turned toward this companions with a toothy smile, "She's fighting back against the Reapers to save us."

...

...

...

Everyone sat down as The Doctor went to the alter and spoke into the microphone, "Alright, so this key here, it's the key to my ship. If we charge it up, we can summon her and all get out of here. With my ship back I can bend everything back to the way it used to be, no more Reapers. So, has anybody got a battery?"

The man who was to get married stood, holding what might have been a brick, either that or one of the first cell phones, "This one big enough?"

"Fantastic!" The Doctor exclaimed, jogging over to him and grabbing the battery, "Now, The Able, could I borrow your sonic? Might hike up the settings to make it go faster."

Without a word, Able was tossing his watch over toward The Doctor, who caught it, and started to put a setting on it with speed that Able knew he'd never be able to match, "Only that one setting, The Doctor, I want to do the programming myself. Extenuating circumstances aside."

"Of course." The Doctor spoke absently, concentrating on his task. Able stood next to him, watching the Time Lord with a keen eye. Noticing, The Doctor started to explain out loud what he was doing as he did it, "Really, it could be any kind of energy, in fact, this battery is not at all effective. Normally the TARDIS uses the Rift to charge herself, but that's not exactly an option anymore."

Then, the TARDIS started to materialize, causing everyone in the room to stare in shock. He went back to the microphone, "Right, there we go, no one touches that key. If anyone touches it, well, ZAP!" The Doctor finished, giving an over the top hand movement.

Both Able and The Doctor started to head back toward Rose and her father, Able notwithstanding the urge to lighten the atmosphere somewhat, "You know, if you dislike domestics so much, you're not avoiding them very efficiently."

The Doctor pointing his finger toward Able's face, "Quiet you."

The ginger just chuckled and followed after the man, "Seriously though, you've got to tell me. How's Red materializing like that, why was she gone in the first place? Did the Reapers consume her energy or something?"

The Doctor almost opened his mouth to tell the human that he wouldn't understand – He would for the majority of his companions because it was true. This time however, it wasn't, not really.

"She lives on a plane where time doesn't exist, or in a way, she is one with time. She knows the past, present, and future in a way that even a Time Lord can't truly understand. In all likelihood, the TARDIS knew that this was going to happen, allowed the Reaper to consume her 'present' self, and then from only a second before that happened, she was already headed here, just waiting for us to make a connection and pull her away from the Reaper that was sucking her up. That's why she is materializing so slow – Even as we pull her closer, she's still being consumed by that Reaper on the other side of time." The Doctor tried to explain, keeping his explanation as simple as possible.

Able looked at The Doctor with blind admiration and awe, "Amazing... She truly is amazing, Red."

"Yes she is..."

Able and The Doctor only then realized that they'd stopped walking – Snapped to attention when Peter and Jackie started fighting, Peter handed Rose the baby version of herself. Rose, knowing she couldn't take the child, nor could she drop the child, just staked shock still.

The ginger was wondering if perhaps he should take back his assumption that Peter was clever.

"Rose! No!" The Doctor dashed forward and grabbed the child from Rose, but it was too late.

A Reaper appeared right in the middle of the church, unfolding it's wings and flicking around it's scythe like tail in an aggressive manner. Able, not willing to chance the idea of himself being cat nip to the Reaper, jogged over to The Doctor's side as he instructed everyone to get behind him. The Time Lord spread his arms out, as though blocking the Reapers view of the humans.

"I'm the oldest thing in here." The Doctor stated, getting the Reapers attention focused on him.

The Reaper flashed in front of The Doctor and ruthlessly ate him.

Able felt shocked, unable to move, just stared at the now empty space that had once held The Doctor even as the Reaper flew into the TARDIS and got destroyed. Even when Rose came over, tears in her eyes, and tried to comfort her best friend as she was crying herself. Nothing would change it though, The Doctor was gone, and Able was now stuck in a time not his own as the world was ending because of Rosie Tyler's innocence.

...

...

...

"The key, it's cold." Rose stated as she picked up her TARDIS key, and it felt like her last hope had fallen.

The Enabler still stood in the middle of the isle, staring blankly at the wall in front of him. This prompted him to reach up toward his own key. Immediately, Able jerked his hand away with a wince of pain which brought him back to the present.

His key was still hot.

Idea's ran through The Enabler's mind quickly, of course, his sonic was behind held by The Doctor when the man had been eaten, so was the battery. However, there was something that could power the TARDIS that had been there the whole time.

The only Human Time Rift in existence.

Despondent thought processes left Able as he pulled himself together on pure hope. Turning to face Rose, "I have a plan. Well, sort of a plan, more like an idea."

Hope started to flood into her eyes as well, before she could ask though, Peter suddenly came forward.

"The car, it's out there. The Doctor figured it out of course, but he was fighting to protect me. If I were too..."

"I thought you were clever Peter, but now I'm not too sure. First you caused a second paradox that erased The Doctor, and now you want to bet on the cheap shot that maybe, just maybe, The Doctor cared about Rose's feelings more than the Universe – When, for all you know, this could make it worse." Able spat out, not wanting to look at the man who was causing all of this to happen.

Rose glared at him for it, but Able just steamed forward, "I'm going to use myself to power my TARDIS key, then I'm going to take the TARDIS, fix this whole mess, and wish for the best. My plan also has the better chance of working correctly, just for the record."

"Who died and made you boss?" Rose said, still glaring at Able for the moment.

"The Doctor, and I don't feel like wasting time talking this over when the Universe is being devoured. Soo..." Able placed his hand around the key, ignoring the burning, even as his cells reverted themselves in time to stop from dying off, "I'm not phone battery, this should be quicker."

A headache formed as The Enabler brought back memories of the Original Rift and some of the things the ginger had experienced through them, one of which was their friendship with the TARDIS – A friendship where the Original Rift had given energy

A friendship that was going to be rewritten today.

Less than thirty seconds later, The Enabler felt faint, leaning against a newly regenerated door.

"I can't believe it worked." Rose breathed out, running a hand across the TARDIS' blue doors and made to pull the door open, but Able reached over and stopped her.

"Stay here with your dad, I'm going to take the TARDIS back and fix this."

Adding another double into the mix by bringing Rose would likely make the situation worse. However, Able was time, and when three similar versions of himself where in one place, they started to pull together. That was exactly what Able was banking on to fix this, Rose being there was a liability that they couldn't currently afford.

The Enabler made sure she was listening. Rose had frozen herself in place, not because she was listening, but in shock. Able was almost always giving to his best friend, always accepting what she wanted. The moments when he didn't where shocking in nature.

The doors to the TARDIS closed with a snap, a blurry eyed Enabler having shut them behind him.

"So Red, considering what The Doctor told me earlier, I'm assuming you know my plan."

The ship immediately connected to The Enabler's mind and sent something that felt like approval.

"Right then, I've seen The Doctor pilot this thing plenty, and the books by my bed side, preparing me for this moment where you?" Able stumbled over to the console, "Red you clever girl. Right then, and would you look at that, the time is already set correctly. Which means all that's left is..."

The Enabler carefully switched a few things on, engines, auxiliaries, and flipped the handled switch. A jerk later, and the TARDIS landed, "If you know the plan, then you know I need you to stabilize me. Last time I experienced this I couldn't so much as move, I needed a stabilizing factor. The Doctor came close, but he was with both of me, almost made matters worse..."

With a deep, determined breath, Able forced his weakened body to pull Red's door open.

His mind was immediately flooded.

Instead of being overwhelmed, Able forced himself to concentrate on what he wanted, the mind that he wanted to be in, and the TARDIS was only present in one of those bodies. The second group, the one which had the Rose who would run forward.

Except now she wouldn't, because The Enabler was very firmly holding her arm the entire time, even as she squirmed and tried to pull away. It hurt The Enabler to force his friend to witness this without saving him, but there was no way the ginger could risk the situation worsening.

As Peter Tyler was hit, Able let Rose go.

Time snapped back into place, and all was right again.

"Was that you?" The Doctor asked, looking at Able closely, just as The Enabler left the other two versions of himself fade away, one of them from being in a timeline that no longer existed, the other going back to the TARDIS to do it all over.

"Do you remember?"

"Time Lord."

"Ah, it must be the 21st brain at work then." Able commented, feeling numb, watching Rose crying next to her father.

"Time Lord's are  _not_  lynches –"

Whatever reply The Doctor had, it was cut off by Able grabbing the man in a hug and holding onto him like he'd never let the man go. For one of the first times in his life, The Enabler could feel his eyes wetting, preparing for a cry. With no finesse at all, Able battery rammed his way into The Doctor's head and flooded himself with that beautiful mind.

' _Don't you dare do that, not ever again._ ' Able sent toward the man, practically spitting, but the emotions, the grief, all of that softened the tone to the point where the words didn't even matter.

Able could feel the hug being returned, "No promises."

The ginger knew why as well, could feel it. The Doctor would sacrifice himself again if it meant that his companions would live.

Which just meant that Able would have to sacrifice himself first, because there was no way in hell he was going through something like that again. The determination from that thought was sent over to The Doctor, and Able could feel the emotions behind that manic smile he just knew was now on the Time Lord's face.

What felt like forever passed before the two pulled apart, and one of them started to make their way toward the sobbing Rose.

"That's my dad, the most amazing man in the world, and now he's dead." She said as the two approached, almost as though in shock.

The Doctor and Able broke contact, their minds separating, and Able pulled Rose in for a hug. In that moment, he wished that Rosie had the same abilities with empathy so he could more accurately comfort her. The Enabler left lacking in that department without the ability now, but he pushed that feeling aside and just held her for a moment, just like he and The Doctor had been holding each other only moments before. When they split apart, Rose's hands were being held. One by The Doctor, and the other one by Able, as they walked back to the TARDIS.

A united image, hand and hand, The Doctor, Rose Tyler, and Able in the TARDIS, like it should be.

**R &R**

**Alright! So, vastly different in the ending bit there.**

**How are you guys feeling about the relationships between the trio? I think they are adorable, if not troubled together.**

**I want to know your opinion though.**

 


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